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Published: 27 May 2010

Last Updated: 04 January 2016

World Tobacco Day - 31st May 2010

Cigarettes. Containing over 4,000 different chemicals, 400 of those poisonous toxins, 43 of those carcinogenic. Yet with over 1.3 billion users worldwide, why is smoking such a problem in today's modern society, where the risks of smoking are known and widely published?

Despite three in four Europeans saying that they support the idea of tougher measures on smoking, one in every three Europeans smoke. This might be due to a number of reasons.
Firstly, tobacco contains the highly addictive chemical nicotine and some studies have even suggested it is just as addictive as the illegal drug heroin. Once a person is hooked, it's very hard to break away from it, especially if someone been smoking for a long time. Many smokers start when they are only in their teens, because of peer-pressure or simply out of curiosity.  It then becomes too easy to become reliant on cigarettes.

But smoking is nothing new, in fact it has been dated to have been used as early as 5000BC, originating in South America, used in spiritual rituals to contact the world of the dead. By the early 1600's when the habit had really kicked off, tobacco was known as “brown gold”. By the mid 1700's every major civilisation had been introduced to tobacco and had assimilated it into their society's culture. Referred to as “drinking smoke”, the word smoking was not coined until the late 1800's. Not until the early 1900's did people really start investigating into the effects of smoking and its link to lung cancer. Thankfully today, we know a lot about the practice of smoking and it's health implications, unfortunately many people do not heed these warnings.
The EU's concerns about the ramifications of smoking is growing, these are both economic and health based.  The NHS in the UK alone spends over £1.5 billion on smoking related diseases, these can be anything from lung cancers to leukaemia, rheumatoid arthritis and sexual health problems.  It also drains many peoples' money, as spending £5 on a pack of cigarettes two or three times a week can soon become financially damaging.

The wider health implications are massive, over 5.4 million people die a year as a result of smoking, 650,000 of those Europeans. In China, 2,000 people die a day due to smoking. The World Health Organisation reports that more than a billion people will die in the 21st century because of smoking, if the current trend continues.

There are many benefits in stopping smoking, if you stop smoking before the age of 35, your life expectancy is only slightly less than that of a person who has never smoked, quit before you're 50 and you decrease the risk of dying from a smoking related disease by 50%.

The European Commission has set an ambitious target towards a “Smoke Free Europe” by 2012, through putting in tougher measures on tobacco companies and the advertisement of tobacco products. In practice this also means the Commission encouraging Member States to protect their citizens from exposure to  tobacco smoke in enclosed public spaces, work places and public transport and to reduce children's exposure to second hand cigarette smoke. There is also high support for banning certain tobacco flavours that make it seem more attractive, and banning advertisement at the point of sale.

John Dalli, Commissioner for Health and Consumer policy said "I am determined to do everything in my power to reduce tobacco consumption across Europe via the upcoming revision of existing legislation on tobacco products and consider measures that can contribute to a clear and effective set of rules to support Europeans' health.”

The Tobacco Products Directive stipulates the maximum limits for chemicals in cigarettes such as nicotine and tar and also targets to ensure a high level of public health, while also facilitating the functioning of the internal market within the tobacco sector. The European Parliament has repeatedly asked the Commission to revise the  existing directive since 2007. This is because there are a number of problems with the it, for instance the directive does not cover new nicotine and tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and information on nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide on cigarette packets are sometimes misleading for the consumers. The Commission is currently reviewing this directive in order  to provide a higher level of health protection and also update it. One of the directives aims is to cut the number of young smokers by 50% by 2025.

The Commission plans to propose these new amendments as of late 2011.

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For more information:

Here is a link to a PDF file of the Tobacco Products Directive—http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/planned_ia/docs/46_sanco_tobacco_products_directive_en.pdf

For more information contact—European Law Monitor at

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Published: 27 April 2010

Last Updated: 04 January 2016

Icelandic Volcano Ash Cloud Crisis: The EU Response

Over 6 days this month, the biggest disruption to air travel since World War II was caused by the   Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupting. The volcano spewed out 150,000 tonnes of CO2 a day, with the massive ash plume descending over Europe forcing over 20 countries to close their air spaces. But how did the European Commission deal with this crisis, with thousands of people displaced and many more angry about not going on holiday?

Iceland is located on the Icelandic hotspot and North-Atlantic ridge, and therefore very  active geologically speaking, with many volcanoes. Iceland's location in the northern Atlantic, closeness to mainland Europe and the often fluctuating Atlantic weather patterns means that ash can easily be scattered across Europe and that this is likely to be a recurring issue. Eruptions in the past have devastated not only Iceland but as far away as Asia covering it with dense ash clouds that have lasted for several months.

Over 6 days this month, the biggest disruption to air travel since World War II was caused by the   Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupting. The volcano spewed out 150,000 tonnes of CO2 a day, with the massive ash plume descending over Europe forcing over 20 countries to close their air spaces. But how did the European Commission deal with this crisis, with thousands of people displaced and many more angry about not going on holiday?

Iceland is located on the Icelandic hotspot and North-Atlantic ridge, and therefore very  active geologically speaking, with many volcanoes. Iceland's location in the northern Atlantic, closeness to mainland Europe and the often fluctuating Atlantic weather patterns means that ash can easily be scattered across Europe and that this is likely to be a recurring issue. Eruptions in the past have devastated not only Iceland but as far away as Asia covering it with dense ash clouds that have lasted for several months.

The EU Commission acted swiftly over the weekend of 17th-18th April, planning a co-ordinated European approach to re-opening air-space while ensuring safety.   The vice-president, Siim Kallas proposed a short term package including more structural measures to respond to the crisis. These included revising the existing procedures in the event of volcanic activity. To do this the Commission has established an expert group to develop a new methodology for risk management. The package also aims to strengthen the enforcement of air passenger rights, by working closely with national authorities to ensure regulations are kept to and companies do not get unfair advantages by not fulfilling their obligations to their passengers.

The package also considers short term and temporary relief measures to ease pressure on airlines and to help with immediate cash flow problems. For example, the recommendation that the slot co-ordinators take into account the effects of the crisis so that the airlines can keep slots which were not used during the crisis and period afterwards. 

The medium-term structural measure put forward was to adopt the “Single European Sky II Package” which aims at redesigning the air-traffic flows and putting in place a system for it. This is due to come into force as of 2012

For more Information on the Sky II policy visit

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air/single_european_sky/ses_2_en.htm

For more information contact—European Law Monitor at

To download a copy of the press release please go to

Europe Direct Relay for Hampshire

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REF: ELM 27/04/2010