Commission launches debate on smoke-free environment

(BRUSSELS) - The EU's executive arm on Tuesday declared itself in favour of a smoking ban in public areas throughout Europe and launched a major debate on the need for bloc-wide legislation to bring it about.

"The fact is that passive smoking does kill. Whoever claims this is not proven are just fooling themselves or others," said EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou.

"Smoke-free policies are very popular among the European citizens, and we have the polls, the numbers to prove that and not just among non-smokers but among smokers," he told a press conference in Brussels to launch an EU Green Paper on the subject the EU Commission adopted on Tuesday.

A general ban on smoking in public places "would have the most beneficial effect on the public health," he said. "Smoking has gone down in all the countries where there has been a smoking ban."

Places where smoking bans have been undercut by special allowances for bars and restaurants protect neither clients nor employees, said Kyprianou, who also dismissed the effectiveness of special ventilation systems in designated smoking areas as "limited."

While the health commissioner is in favour of a total ban on smoking in public places and offices, including bars and restaurants, the consultative Green Paper lays out five options ranging from doing nothing to imposing binding European legislation.

"These options are not necessarily mutually exclusive but can be applied in a combination," said Kyprianou, a former 60-a-day man.

"Passive smoking kills more than 79,000 adults each year in the EU. The evidence from European countries with comprehensive smoke-free policies is that they work, produce results and are popular," he said.

"A Eurobarometer survey found more than 80 percent of EU citizens in favour of a ban on smoking in workplaces and indoor public places. The question is, how can we build on the trend towards smoke-free environments in member states, and what should be the extent of the EU's involvement?"

Consultation on the Green Paper will continue until May 1 after which the commission will follow up on the basis of the responses.

Currently the most comprehensive smoking bans are in place in Ireland, which started the trend in March 2004, and Scotland, with the rest of Britain set to follow suit this summer.

Smoking bans that allow for enclosed and separately ventilated smoking areas in bars and restaurants are in place in Italy, Sweden and Malta, and are due to begin in Estonia and Finland by June and in France next year.

France will on Thursday introduce a formal smoking ban in public places such as libraries, hospital and offices.

Other nations, including Belgium, Cyprus, Lithuania, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands have smoking bans with various exceptions while most EU member states have bans or restrictions in major public buildings.

Up till now smoking bans have been the preserve of EU member states, except for the question of smoking at work, which is the subject of European directives.