Brussels recommends banning smoking on terraces and extending it to other smoke-free areas

From Brussels, the proposal is supported ban smoking tobacco and vaping on terraces. This is what the European Commission has requested from European governments on Tuesday in order to Expand smoke-free zones outdoors where non-smokers are particularly exposed, such as the terraces of bars and restaurants, playgrounds and swimming pools or bus stops; while he has advocated applying this veto also to emerging products such as electronic cigarettes, whether they contain nicotine or not.

“In a European Health Union, we have a duty to protect our citizens, particularly children and young people, from exposure to smoke and harmful emissions,” he warned. Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakidesin a statement, in which it also highlighted the common commitment to achieve a “tobacco-free generation” by 2040.

It should be noted that the recommendation It is not binding Because Member States have exclusive competence over health policies, but Brussels encourages them to transfer this objective to their national strategies “taking into account their particular circumstances and needs.”

In the description of the places where community services consider it necessary to take “effective protective measures against exposure to second-hand smoke and aerosols”, they highlight outdoor recreational areas, especially if they are areas frequented by children, such as public playgrounds, amusement parks, swimming pools and zoos.

Brussels also points out open-air or semi-covered areas near establishments as places to operate, in reference to balconies, rooftops, porches or patios and also to “restaurants, bars, cafes and other similar premises.” Semi-open areas for public transport, such as bus stops, trams, trains and airports are also marked.

In addition, the European Community Executive also undertakes to offer financial support to implement the recommendations to strengthen smoke-free zones, including from the 16 million euro items that community coffers reserve for health programs andthe 80 million of the Horizon program to advance tobacco and nicotine control.

The Community team outlines other initiatives to support Eurozone countries in developing Preventive measures to better protect children and young peopleincluding the links between physical and mental health, the development of which will be left to the new European Commission to be formed this autumn.

According to data handled by Brussels, 700,000 people lose their lives every year in EU countries due to illnesses linked to tobacco consumption, including “tens of thousands” whose consumption is indirect through second-hand smoke.

The Ministry of Health supports the Brussels guidelines

Following the announcement of the European capital, The Spanish Ministry of Health, led by Monica Garciawhich has already contemplated and implemented similar measures, has expressed its support for the European Commission’s report on bans on smoking in open-air spaces and the extension of smoke-free zones.

The minister recalled that Spain is already working on a legislative reform to expand the places where smoking is prohibited, within the framework of the Tobacco Prevention and Control Plan, which was approved by the Council of Ministers last April.

“The European Commission is leading the way by pointing out that anti-smoking policies must include outdoor spaces. Spain has already started working on this by approving the Smoking Prevention Plan. “We are now working on a legislative reform for more smoke-free zones,” the minister said in a post on the social network ‘X’. According to García, “combating the main cause of preventable death, which takes 50,000 lives each year, is an urgent need.”