❄️The Network in December❄️: Season's greetings & other news

European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention Newsletter

December 23, 2022

Season's greetings!

Happy Holidays

and a Tobacco-Free New Year!

As we head towards much-needed holidays, ENSP thanks you for your support throughout the year! At ENSP we believe all challenges and successes faced this year can be turned into a learning tool for our Network, and empower us to provide better support to the members and community.

Tobacco use still remains one of the greatest risk factors for many types of cancer, a risk factor often still unknown and underestimated. With the development of new products and the tobacco industry's new techniques of marketing and manipulation, the health of our future generations is at stake. Now, more than ever, we must remain united to keep fighting the tobacco epidemic and concentrate our efforts on answering the most important public health issues and shaping a healthy future for generations to come.

Share your 2022 highlights!

Starting on 16th January 2023, the ENSP will launch the signing procedure and website for the European Citizens' Initiative - Tobacco-Free Environments. Next year we face a unique opportunity to make our voice heard and create a real and substantial impact on our society. ENSP is looking for support to implement a European campaign in order to raise awareness of the initiative and gather signatures.

Let us stay connected with each other! Happy Tobacco-Free Holidays!

Stay tuned for the ECI-TFE launch!

The first Tobacco Free Advent Calendar

Today is the last day of the first Tobacco Free Advent Calendar launched by ENSP Youth Group at the beginning of December. During three weeks, this digital campaign aimed at providing information on various tobacco control and smoking prevention topics, with a focus on environmental aspects, where every person, regardless of their age or their prior knowledge, not only learned the basic information on these topics but also had the opportunity to interact with the content provided and delve deeper into each topic through the included materials.

Towards a Tobacco Free Christmas

We hope that now, in light of Christmas preparations, we managed one more time to raise awareness among young people, encourage tobacco cessation, and foster engagement in the field of tobacco control and prevention. Thanks to international collaborations, this Advent calendar has been accessible in additional languages, such as Armenian, Spanish, Romanian, and Italian. The Armenian version, organised according to the Julian calendar, is still running until the 31st of December!

Thank you one more time for all your support and for encouraging a Tobacco Free Christmas and Holidays!

HAVE A LOOK AGAIN AT THE

TOBACCO FREE ADVENT CALENDAR 2022

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End of the year message of the

Secretariat of the WHO FCTC

Have a look at the wrap-up video from the WHO FCTC, illustrating the 2022 achievements, processes, actions, and directions for the future. The Head of the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC sends the best wishes for the holiday season and encourages all stakeholders to continue its tremendous work towards a healthier world.

Watch the full video...

Other news and upcoming events

Announcement of the new Belgian strategy for a Tobacco Free Generation

The European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) congratulates Kingdom of Belgium on the Interfederal Strategy 2022-2028 for a Tobacco Free Generation launched on 14 December; in order to reduce the prevalence of tobacco use in Belgium in the coming years. ENSP supports the Belgian vision to achieve a tobacco-free generation and endorses this set of measures covering second-hand smoke, indoor/outdoor spaces, plain packaging for all products, novel tobacco products, enforcement of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Article 5.3 regarding the tobacco industry interference, and others.

ENSP congratulates its members from the Belgian Alliance for a Smoke Free Society for the efforts deployed in the Strategy preparation and adoption process and believes that these measures will have immediate effects and will significantly improve the citizens’ health.

Summary of the strategy:

Smoking ban in amusement parks, zoos, playgrounds, children’s grounds during activities, sports grounds, and places where youth movements are held. The smoking ban in bus shelters is discussed at the MobilityCIM and the smoking ban on the beaches is discussed with the coastal mayors. The possibility of implementing a smoking ban in other open public places, such as hospital entrances, school entrances, etc., is also planned.
Implementation of a total smoking ban on railway station platforms.
Ban (removal of the still existing) smoking rooms in closed places accessible to the public and accessible at the workplace.
Implementation of the standardized package for all tobacco and herbal smoking products (i.e. cigars, cigarillos, e-cigarettes).
Implementation of the ban on nicotine pouches (snus, sachets) and cannabinoid pouches. This point is important as it paves the way for BigTobacco’s strategy to target young people (current examples from Sweden and Denmark) and anticipates the revision of the EU Directive 40/2014.
Ban on disposable electronic cigarettes (puff bars in fluorescent and attractive colours). This point is very important because it aims to counter current marketing to young people.
A ban on tobacco vending machines in the hotel sector.
Better monitoring and follow-up of the number of smokers and vapers in the country.
Increase in controls and stricter sanctions for violation of the advertising ban.
Reducing the visibility of tobacco products through a display ban and a ban on the sale of tobacco products in temporary points of sale and in food stores larger than 400 m².
Regulation of new (nicotine-based) products that are placed on the market.
Clear guidelines for communication between ministries, government agencies, and the tobacco industry. Implementation of Article 5.3 of the FCTC.
Finally, an increase in excise duties on tobacco products and herbal smoking products and an adjustment of excise duties on roll-your-own tobacco and cigarettes.

New tobacco control measures in The Netherlands:

Interview with the ENSP national representative, Daniëlle Arnold

On 2 December, the Dutch government announced a package of new tobacco control measures. The letter in which the government explains the measures can be found here (in Dutch). Health Funds for a Smokefree Netherlands supports these measures, but believes more effort is necessary to reach a Smokefree Generation.

In an interview with Daniëlle Arnold, Policy Advisor at Health Funds for a Smokefree Netherlands, we have tried to elaborate on these measures and their implications for the future.

ENSP: Could you please give us more details about your institution and its field of activity?

Daniëlle Arnolds: Health Funds for a Smokefree Netherlands is an alliance between the Dutch Cancer Society, the Dutch Heart Foundation and the Dutch Lung Foundation. The alliance focuses completely on tobacco control and has three main pillars: campaigns and communication, government policy, and smokefree environments & organisations.

ENSP: Could you please explain the context of these new measures, the stakeholders involved, and the implications on the health system and society?

DA: In 2018 the previous government in the Netherlands concluded the so-called ‘National Prevention Agreement’, together with many societal parties, including Health Funds for a Smokefree Netherlands. The agreement contained the goal to reach a Smokefree Generation in 2040 and a package of tobacco control measures and societal actions, as a first step towards reaching this goal. Government measures that were included in the agreement were for instance a tax increase, plain packaging for cigarettes and RYO tobacco and a plan for reduction of the number of tobacco points of sale. In previous years, the government has implemented the measures that were included in the National Prevention Agreement.

As a next step and a follow-up to the National Prevention Agreement, the current government now presented a new package of government measures, consisting of:

Research into scenario’s for further tobacco tax increases from 2025 onwards (for 2023 and 2024 tax increases of about €1,20 per pack of cigarettes are already foreseen);
Research into the effects of increasing the minimum age for tobacco sales from 18 to 21 years and discussions with neighbouring countries about the possibility of banning the sale of tobacco for the next generation;
Limiting tobacco sales to convenience stores & tobacconist shops in 2030 and to only tobacconist shops in 2032;
Introduction of a registration system for tobacco points of sale in 2024;
Limiting the sale of e-cigarettes and e-liquids to specialist shops in 2025;
Plain packaging for e-cigarettes and cigars/cigarillos (following the introduction of PP for cigarettes and RYO tobacco in 2020);
A ban on all oral nicotine products without tobacco (e.g. nicotine pouches and nicotine-containing candy) and regulation of all other nicotine products without tobacco (so they are covered by the advertising ban, minimum sales age, etc);
Extension of the smoking ban to environments where children regularly go, e.g. sports clubs and playgrounds;
A ban on additives in tobacco products and e-cigarettes that are toxic or increase the addictiveness of products;
A ban on tobacco accessories that can be used to create flavours (flavour accessories) and regulation of all other tobacco accessories (so they are covered by the advertising ban, minimum sales age, etc);
Various efforts to stimulate smokers to quit, e.g. the creation of a taskforce ‘Quit Smoking’ and more financial support for the existing taskforce that works on smoke free pregnancy;
Evaluation of the current government mass media campaign focused on quitting smoking and possibly the development of new flights/campaigns;
Intensifying sanctions and increasing fines linked to violations of tobacco control measures.

The societal parties that were involved in the conclusion of the Prevention Agreement advised the government about the measures that needed to be included. We as Health Funds for a Smokefree Netherlands have had a leading role in this process, together with a couple of other organisations and stakeholders.

ENSP: Could you please elaborate on the next steps?

DA: On 14 December, the Parliament debated the government’s plan with new tobacco control measures. Most Parliament members stated they support the measures, but believe that more governmental action is necessary to reach the goal of a Smokefree Generation. Several Parliament members for instance stated that in addition to plain packaging for e-cigarettes, it is important to also include requirements as to the appearance of e-cigarettes themselves, so they can’t have bright colours and attractive shapes anymore. Other Parliament members advocated for a ban on tobacco sales to anyone born after a certain year, a smoking ban on outdoor terraces, further tax increases, a licensing system for tobacco sales, and accelerating the reduction of the number of tobacco points of sale. These pleas are fully in line with how we as Health Funds for a Smokefree Netherlands have reacted to the government’s plans.

The next step is that Parliament members can file motions in January, on what they believe is missing in the government’s tobacco control plan. If these motions are adopted, the government has to take them into account.

Another next step is of course the implementation of all the announced measures. As Health Funds for a Smokefree Netherlands we will advocate for a swift implementation.

ENSP: How do you envision a knowledge transfer towards other countries?

DA: Tobacco control conferences in 2023, for instance, the annual ENSP conference, provide a great platform on which we would like to present the developments in the Netherlands and our role in those developments. Next to this, from time to time we have bilateral or multilateral exchanges of information with colleagues from other countries that are in the ENSP network. These meetings always provide many useful insights.

SFP Infographic 2022:

Declared Tobacco Industry presence in the EU policy-making environment

The latest 2022 edition, of the SFP infographic on the declared tobacco industry presence in the EU policy-making environment is out. Tobacco industry interference remains the largest obstacle to the implementation of effective tobacco control policies worldwide. When tobacco industry interference results in delays or policies being blocked, this translates into real lives being put at higher risk of disease and death.

SFP has been monitoring the EU Transparency Register to identify and measure the representation of tobacco industry interests. The objective is to shed light on the human and economic resources of the tobacco industry and its allies, who are lobbying the EU institutions.

The infographic focuses on 4 key aspects of tobacco industry spending, namely:

direct spending
consultancy spending
full-time staff
accreditations to the EU institutions