Pan-European Protection from the Health Hazards of Tobacco
The Recent Report of the German Cancer Research Center gives Recommendations for a Better Protection of Youth and Adult Consumers from the Health Hazards of Tobacco.
© dkfz.de
The European Commission recently started a public consultation on the revision of the Tobacco Product Directive 2001/37/EC. It will be discussed which further measures should be taken to improve tobacco control as well as the protection of youth, and consumers in general. To contribute to this process, the German Cancer Research Center recommends the European Commission to introduce standardized packaging, to prohibit any tobacco additives and to continue the prohibition of smokeless tobacco products, as presented in upcoming report “Improvement of youth and consumer protection by revision of the EU Tobacco Product Directive 2001/37/EC”, which condenses current scientific evidence. Karl-Heinz Florenz, member of the European Parliament, estimates that this is an important step to prevention: “We have to do all that is possible to prevent our youth from starting smoking. Moreover, I support a revision of the tobacco additives and flavours, because we urgently need a comprehensive pan-european legislation for additives.”
Packages are an important advertising tool for the tobacco industry. Its appealing designs attract consumers and target special groups – in particular young people and women. A standardized package would not only deprive the tobacco industry of an important advertising instrument, but provides a cost-effective means of information for tobacco control.
Additives and flavours not only make tobacco products more appealing – in particular for young people – but they make smoking easier and more addictive. The tobacco industry uses up to 600 different substances such as flavours, humectants, or colorants as tobacco additives. They account for about 10 percent of the cigarette’s weight. In order to better protect youth and adult consumers any additives in tobacco products should be banned.
The marketing of certain smokeless tobacco products is prohibited in the European Union with the sole exception of Sweden. Smokeless tobacco products contain nicotine, cause damage to health and are addictive. They may facilitate tobacco dependence of young people. To protect youth and health, the existing ban of smokeless tobacco products in the European Union has to be maintained.
Every year tobacco kills about 100 000 people in Germany and more than 650 000 people in Europe. “This enormous harm is legitimate reason to introduce all legal measures appropriate to curb tobacco consumption”, says Dr. Martina Pötschke-Langer of the German Cancer Research Center.
The report as well as a high resolution picture of a standardized package can be downloaded at: www.tabakkontrolle.de.
With more than 3,000 employees, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is Germany’s largest biomedical research institute. DKFZ scientists identify cancer risk factors, investigate how cancer progresses and develop new cancer prevention strategies. They are also developing new methods to diagnose tumors more precisely and treat cancer patients more successfully. The DKFZ's Cancer Information Service (KID) provides patients, interested citizens and experts with individual answers to questions relating to cancer.
To transfer promising approaches from cancer research to the clinic and thus improve the prognosis of cancer patients, the DKFZ cooperates with excellent research institutions and university hospitals throughout Germany:
The DKFZ is 90 percent financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and 10 percent by the state of Baden-Württemberg. The DKFZ is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers.
