GLOBALink – 19 Mar 09
The European commission has published today a survey on smoking among 26 500 Europeans in 28 countries: EU 27 plus Norway;
You can consult the complete results at
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/Tobacc…
Some important results:
- Fourteen percent of non-smokers and 23% of smokers are exposed to other people’s tobacco smoke at home on an almost daily basis.
- Home exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is the lowest in Finland and Sweden – not more than 5% of Finns and Swedes are regularly exposed to other people’s tobacco smoke at home. Lithuanians, Cypriots, Greeks and Bulgarians are six times more likely to be exposed to ETS at home.
- A majority of EU citizens support smoke-free public places, such as offices, restaurants and bars. Support for workplace smoking restrictions is slightly higher than support for such restrictions in restaurants (84% vs. 79%). Two-thirds support smoke-free bars, pubs and clubs.
- Adding a colour picture to a text-only health warning is perceived as being effective by more than half of EU citizens: 20% say this would be very effective and 35% think it is somewhat effective.
- Less than 1% of EU citizens surveyed have ever purchased tobacco products over the Internet. This percentage is slightly higher among respondents who have tried non-combustible tobacco products – 3% of them have bought non-combustible tobacco over the Internet and 2% have bought other tobacco products online.
- Over one-tenth of EU citizens (12%) have seen tobacco products being sold in the past six months which they think might have been smuggled into the country.
- The proportion of respondents who have seen potentially smuggled tobacco products being sold in the past six months is the highest in Lithuania (36% ), followed by Greece (25%), Poland, Hungary and Latvia (22%-24%).In Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Luxembourg and Denmark, on the other hand, not more than 5% of respondents have been in contact with potentially smuggled tobacco products in the past six months.
Luk Joossens
Advocacy officer, Association of European Cancer Leagues
Senior Policy Advisor FCA
Tobacco control expert Belgian Foundation against Cancer