EU Health Commissioner Seeks to Impose EU-Wide Smoking Ban

The European Commission would bring in legislation in 2011 to ban smoking in public places across Europe, according to EU Health Commissioner John Dalli, reports the UK-based Policy Dialogue International Limited.

Further, the Commissioner wants shops and supermarkets to stop displaying smoking paraphenelia or products and reduce nicotine content in cigarettes.  Currently, there are partial or total smoking bans in many EU countries but loopholes allow smoking in public places in some areas.  The Greek health minister has acknowledged that prohibiting smoking in public places has not worked in Greece as 80 percent of bars flouted the law.

Similarly, loopholes allow cafes in Brussels to allow smoking as well as in other cities across Europe. Dalli said these exceptions should not be tolerated as the ban “is not only about the health of visitors, but also the employees.”

Speaking to the German newspaper Die Welt, the Commissioner said: “We need a complete ban on smoking in all public spaces, transport and the workplace.”

The Commissioner estimated that 650,000 Europeans die each year from smoking related illnesses and costs millions of Euros in health care expenses across Europe.