It was widely reported at the end of June that the European Commission, the European Union’s executive branch, is proposing to amend its existing Tobacco Products Directive to prohibit the sale of flavored heated tobacco products in all EU member states.
In announcing the measure, Stella Kyriakides, the EU commissioner for health and food safety, explained that this was “another step towards realizing our vision under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan to create a ’Tobacco Free Generation’ with less than 5 percent of the population using tobacco by 2040.”
She offered this justification: “With nine out of 10 lung cancers caused by tobacco, we want to make smoking as unattractive as possible to protect the health of our citizens and save lives.”
Considering that combustible tobacco is the overwhelming cause of those cancers, it is difficult to imagine a more counterproductive anti-cancer measure than one which obstructs a safer alternative to cigarettes.
Martin Cullip – Filter – 2022-07-13
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