Council Resolution of 26 November 1996 on the reduction of smoking in the European Community
Date: 1996-11-26
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: cancer, cardiovascular disease, excise duty, public awareness campaign, public health, smoking













EUR-Lex - 31996Y1211(04) - EN






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31996Y1211(04)

Council Resolution of 26 November 1996 on the reduction of smoking in the European Community  


Official Journal C 374 , 11/12/1996 P. 0004 - 0005 





COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 26 November 1996 on the reduction of smoking  in the European Community (96/C  374/04) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Acknowledging that, at its meetings in Milan in June 1985 and in Luxembourg in December 1985, the  European Council underlined the advantages of launching a European programme of action against  cancer; Noting that the Council and the representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting  within the Council, adopted on 7 July 1986 by their resolution  (1) a programme of action of the  European Communities against cancer, which set as one of the objectives a contribution to an  improvement in the health and quality of life of citizens within the Community by reducing the  number of cases of cancer and under this heading gave priority to measures against smoking; Noting that the Council and the representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting  within the Council, reinforced this objective on 17 May 1990 through Decision 90/238/Euratom, ECSC,  EEC  (2) adopting a 1990 to 1994 action plan in the context of the 'Europe against Cancer`  programme; Noting that the European Parliament and the Council, by Decision 646/96/EC  (3), adopting an action  plan to combat cancer within the framework for action in the field of public health (1996 to 2000),  on 29 March 1996, stressed that the risk factors inherent in lifestyles, especially smoking, need  to be reduced; Recalling that smoking is a risk factor in certain diseases, in particular cancer and  cardiovascular diseases, and contributes to the deaths of 500  000 people in the Community each  year; Considering that the population in general, and young people in particular, should be protected  against smoking; Recalling that a key objective of any smoking reduction strategy must be to discourage young people  from taking up the habit, in view of the addictive nature of smoking, and its long-term effects; Stressing that exposure to the smoke of tobacco products is damaging to the health of all persons  exposed; Taking into account that a number of Member States have sought to discourage smoking by a variety  of measures, including the increasing of retail prices, in particular through the imposition of a  high level of excise tax; Noting that the Council and the Ministers for Education, meeting within the Council, in their  resolution  (4) of 23 November 1988 concerning health education in schools identified smoking as a  risk to health; Noting that the Council and the Ministers for Health, meeting within the Council, in their  conclusions of 13 November 1992, agreed that schools are important for providing information and  education on the prevention of ill-health; Considering that the initiatives set out in this resolution will have an even more beneficial  effect on public health when combined with health education programmes during the years of  compulsory education and with information and public awareness campaigns; Considering that the protection of public health should form a constituent part of the Community's  other policies; Noting that the Council, in its resolution of 20 December 1995  (1), called on  the Commission to ensure that health requirements are integrated into other Community policies; CONSIDERS that it is necessary to evaluate the impact on tobacco consumption of, on the one hand,  measures to promote smoking and other promotional activities and, on the other hand, interventions  and measures intended to reduce smoking; NOTES the 'Recommendations on Tobacco` of the High Level Cancer Experts Committee adopted at the  Consensus Conference on Tobacco held in Helsinki in October 1996; RECALLS that tobacco advertising and its influence on the incidence of smoking, particularly among  young people, is the subject of a proposal from the Commission which is receiving separate  consideration; RECOGNIZES that, by cooperating and coordinating among themselves their policies and programmes to  prevent illness and death associated with smoking and addiction to smoking in liaison with the  Commission, the Member States can contribute to the reduction of smoking-induced diseases across  the Community; NOTES that the Member States have developed strategies to reduce the prevalence of smoking and  that, while the choice of measures varies between Member States, examples include the following: - allowing the sale of tobacco products only to adults, - restricting access of young people to tobacco products by controls on their sale through  automatic vending machines and by prohibiting the distribution of free samples of cigarettes or the  sale of single cigarettes, -  encouraging measures to extend smoke-free areas in the workplace and providing for greater  protection for workers from involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke, - introducing restrictions on smoking in indoor premises open to the public such as restaurants,  cinemas, offices, schools and colleges and on public transport facilities, with a particular  emphasis on the protection of children, young persons, pregnant women and persons with respiratory  diseases, - increasing tobacco taxation levels with a view to maintaining the prices of tobacco products at a  high level, - strengthening health education measures to improve understanding of the risks of smoking as well  as to discourage smoking, in particular measures focused on young people and on other groups of  particular importance, such as pregnant women, - introducing restrictions and controls on direct and indirect advertising, and on sponsorship and  sales promotion of tobacco products; NOTES that the Member States have introduced effective controls on labelling, including warning  texts, and on the tar yield of cigarettes, applicable under Community directives; URGES the Member States to continue to promote strategies and measures aimed at reducing the  prevalence of smoking and regularly exchange information on these strategies and measures, CALLS UPON THE COMMISSION: - to take particular account in Community policies of the detrimental effect of smoking on the  health and quality of life of citizens of the Community, - to carry out surveys on best practices conducted in the Member States towards reducing the  prevalence of smoking, and the evaluation of their impact, - to examine, in the light of its assessment of measures taken by Member States, the possible  further measures which might be taken by the Community to support actions taken by Member States  directed towards the reduction of smoking, - to support the efforts of Member States to reduce smoking and to present reports on a regular  basis on the progress achieved by the Community in promoting coordination by Member States of their  policies and programmes and on the potential for further initiatives.(1) OJ No  C 184, 23. 7. 1986, p. 19.  (2) OJ No L 137, 30. 5. 1990, p. 31.  (3) OJ No L 95, 16. 4. 1996, p. 9.  (4) OJ No C 3, 5. 1. 1989, p. 1.  (1) OJ No C 350, 30. 12. 1995, p. 2.