Europarlement voorstander van compleet rookverbod in publieke ruimte (en)

Smoking bans in all enclosed workplaces, restaurants, public buildings and public transport need to be complete if they are to protect workers and non-smokers and help non-smokers to quit, said Parliament on Thursday.

MEPs called on EU Member States to continue introducing rules to protect non-smoking workers and step up other efforts to protect non-smokers, in a resolution adopted by 520 to 53, with 45 abstentions.

Parliament notes that an estimated 25 % of all cancer deaths and 15 % of all deaths in the EU can be attributed to smoking.

Patchy protection

Protection against "second-hand" tobacco smoke in the EU is patchy, due to differing national laws. Degrees of exposure to it also differ among occupational groups, e.g. hospitality workers are three times more likely than office workers to be exposed to tobacco smoke for over five hours a day.

MEPs called on the Commission to produce a report on the costs to national health systems and the EU economy of smoking and the effects of tobacco smoke pollution.

Parliament's own smoking ban

MEPs also called once again on Parliament's own authorities to adopt with immediate effect a rigorously-enforced smoking ban, with no exceptions in all its premises.

The Council is expected to adopt a recommendation on smoke-free environments on 1 December.