Even though the percentage of tobacco users among teenagers is decreasing, the reality shows that the users are switching from traditional products (cigarettes) to novel products (heated tobacco or electronic cigarettes). Thus, the percentage of 13-15 years old pupils that have consumed at least one tobacco product (including heated tobacco), increased in 2017 compared to 2013 (from 35,9% to 38,6%). Among young girls, this increase is even more alarming: from 31% to 36,4%.

The initiative just entered the decisional chamber circuit, having at the moment the Budget, Finance and Banking Commission and the Health Commission as report commissions. ENSP would like to express its strong support for this legislation proposal and encourages all members to act accordingly and express their support to the Romanian authorities.

One year ago, when Austria passed the baton to the new government, Prof. Manfred Neuberger from the  Center of Public Health, Medical University in Vienna, stated for Reuters that although Austria no longer has a domestic tobacco industry, historic connections between the tobacco monopoly administration and the ministries of finance and economy continue. "There are 5784 tobacco shops, 2417 other stores including gas stations, 933 hospitality venues and some food markets which are allowed to sell tobacco in Austria. Tobacconists, which also sell newspapers and a variety of goods for children, are a powerful lobby. Tobacco products are advertised in and around their shops (which are exempt from smoking bans), and they distribute free cigarettes whenever a new product is put on the market. Theoretically tobacconists are obliged to control the age of young people buying tobacco, but enforcement is extremely limited", he added.

Daniela Ludwig, the new Germany Drug Commissioner announces the initiative to ban all tobacco advertisements in public places, which will include "all vapor products", as DW reports. According to a new report, it has been noticed that while fewer Germans use cigarettes and vaping is becoming far more popular, particularly among young people.

The Smoke Free Partnership has the pleasure to invite you to its annual policy conference on 15 November 2019 in Brussels, Belgium. The focus of this year's session will be on the role of tobacco taxation for a healthier Europe.

However, the pace of tax policy implementation remains slow, and discussions at EU level are still ongoing about possible next steps in the evaluation and review of the EU Tobacco Tax Directive.

The policy conference will aim to explore the complexities of tobacco taxation and its impact on public health and domestic revenues, benefitting from the participation of economists and health experts, representatives of the European Commission and of Member States and tobacco control advocates in European countries. It will provide a forum for an open, evidence-based discussion on the current status of tobacco taxation policies at EU and national level, the opportunities and barriers in the evaluation of the current framework, and the options and foreseeable next steps in the potential review of the EU Tobacco Tax Directive.

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The Federation of the Scientific Engineering Unions, the Union of Economists in Bulgaria and the Smoke Free Life Coalition invites research and analysis authors, representatives of national and international institutions and non-governmental organizations to participate in an international scientific-practical conference "Raising the excise duties on tobacco and related products and limiting their illicit trade as part of policies to improve public health in Bulgaria".

The conference will tackle two main topics: how to increase of excise duty on tobacco products and how to limit the illicit trade in tobacco.

After nine very successful European conferences on the topics of alcohol, tobacco control, youth health and social marketing for health promotion, the International Youth Health Organization announces its 1st NCD Youth Conference, which will happen in Portorož, Slovenia between 6th and 9th of December 2019.

YHO works towards health and well-being of young people, through promotion of healthy lifestyles and prevention of non-communicable diseases, including mental health and environmental health. It develops and supports evidence-based and effective policies to assure health-promoting environments for young people.

Find the agenda of the conference here...

France’s new nominee for commissioner, millionaire Thierry Breton, is attracting suspicion over a potential conflict of interest regarding the review of the EU Tobacco Products Directive, due in 2021, the French satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné has reported. That’s because Breton’s former company, Atos, was involved in the development of Philip Morris’ system to trace cigarette packs called Codentify. The EU has also put in place a similar system starting this year, which should be independent of the tobacco industry, according to the directive. Tracing technology allows producers and authorities to ensure that cigarettes are not being diverted to the black market.

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In this context, the CNCT together with Smoke Free Partnership and supported by Alliance contre le tabac and ENSP, expressed their concern in a letter addressed to the Chamber of Deputies regarding the appointment of Thierry Breton as candidate for the position of European Commissioner in charge of an expanded mandate. The four health organisations raise legitimate questions about his responsibilities for years as President of ATOS and Wordline, working closely with the tobacco industry, but do not call into question his personal competence.

 

The resignation of Thierry Breton as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of these companies does not radically change the situation of major conflicts of interest that may prevail, conflicts that have a chance to occur during his term of office.

 

The links between ATOS and the tobacco companies require a clarification of the role of Thierry Breton as part of his mission as a new European Commissioner characterized by an obligation to deport on all issues relating to tobacco.

The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review of studies on the burden of disease due to second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure, reviewing methods, exposure assessment, diseases causally linked to SHS, health outcomes, and estimates available to date. A literature review of studies on the burden of disease from SHS exposure, available in PubMed and SCOPUS, published 2007–2018 in English language, was carried out following the PRISMA recommendations. Overall, 588 studies were first identified, and 94 were eligible.

The research gap on the SHS exposure burden is shrinking. However, estimates are not yet available for a number of countries, particularly the Middle Eastern and African countries, and not all diseases with the strongest evidence of causation, such as sudden infant death syndrome, have been explored. Moreover, in some cases the applied methodology revealed relatively low quality of data.