EU Council recommends crackdown on cigarettes and passive smoking, amid Italy and Romania objections

Brussels – No smoking even outside, at the tables of bars and restaurants. The EU Council adopts a principle-based crackdown on traditional cigarettes and electronic cigarettes within the Union while leaving the Member States free to act if and as they deem appropriate. The vote at the Health Council meeting in Brussels saw criticism from Italy and Romania, which, in an official joint statement, criticized the actions of their 12-star partners for the implicit inclusion of a call to ban smoking in outdoor areas in the hospitality sector.

The issue of outdoor locations of bars and restaurants is the most sensitive, the one that prevented the European Parliament from adopting a position on the Commission’s proposal. Cross-vetoes on amendments to the text led groups to scuttle everything. Conversely, member states are moving forward. The new recommendation recognizes the prevalence and the potential harmful effects of passive exposure to smoke and aerosols in outdoor spaces, particularly for children and young people. These spaces include restaurant patios, playgrounds, beaches, and public transportation. The Council, therefore, recommends that EU countries extend protection from second-hand smoke and aerosols to include a broader range of places.

Another issue on which a majority of the health ministers of the member states agreed is the equal treatment of e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes. Under the text adopted at the proceedings, the 27 member states are “encouraged to restrict further” the use of new-generation cigarettes.
“These recommendations are not binding,” Peter Takacs, Interior Minister and responsible for Health of Hungary, the country with the rotating presidency of the EU Council, stressed. It means that “states remain free” to decide how to behave.

 Italy and Romania, however, stand their ground. They challenge a debate that they deem as hasty, without due impact assessments and generic recommendations that can lead to confusion. Essentially, they challenge the political decision. However, the ministers of Rome and Bucharest point out that nothing will change. “This act adopted by the Council, given its very nature and scope, does not entail any legal obligation for the Member States to shape their national legislation appropriately”.

The European Commission welcomed the decision taken on a subject of national competence. “We lose nearly 700,000 lives in the EU every year due to tobacco consumption, and more than half of all smokers start before the age of 19″, stressed the EU commissioner for Health, Oliver Varhely. “Today’s agreement is a crucial step towards our goal of a tobacco-free generation in Europe” and at the same time “is an important part of our work to tackle preventable cancer, cardiovascular disease and other illnesses across Europe”.