Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) (LSE:PFZ) welcomes the European Commission's
Green Paper on smoke free environments(1), which was put for public
consultation earlier this year. Today in Brussels, a week before World
No Tobacco Day (May 31st), the world's leading life sciences company
submitted its recommendations on the questions raised in the
Commission's Paper. The Consultation will conclude on June 1st.
To effectively support millions of Europeans in their efforts to
stop smoking, improve their health and prolong lives; to protect
non-smokers from the damaging influence of passive smoke; and to
prevent young people from taking up the habit, European
decision-makers should endorse the following measures:
-- A total ban on smoking in public places as the most
effective way to encourage quitting and discourage taking
up smoking.
-- The introduction of binding EU legislation to implement
such bans, as the most appropriate way to ensure
compliance across the EU.
-- The implementation of supportive measures, such as
awareness raising campaigns and increased access to
cessation therapies, including funding of therapies, to
maximise the impact of smoking bans.
The WHO-sponsored "World No Tobacco Day" also focuses on
smoke-free environments this year. On its website, the World Health
Organization states that the evidence demands immediate, decisive
action to protect the health of all people. "100% smoke free is the
only answer."(2) This is further supported by Article 8 of the
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC): Protection from
exposure to tobacco smoke,(2 )which has been signed and ratified by
the European Community.
Tobacco is the single largest cause of avoidable death in the
European Union accounting for over half a million deaths each year and
over a million deaths in Europe as a whole(3). It is estimated that
15% of all deaths, 25% of all cancer deaths(3), and 16% of all deaths
from cardiovascular diseases (CVD)(4 )in men in the Union can be
attributed to smoking.
Smoking, however, does not only kill, it costs money to EU
citizens and governments: CVD alone is estimated to cost EU Member
States EUR 463 million per day, mostly due to direct healthcare costs
(62%) and productivity losses (21%)(4).
"There is a tremendous urgency for EU Member States to introduce a
comprehensive and holistic set of policies aimed at protecting their
citizens by reducing tobacco use and preventing tobacco related
diseases in Europe", said MD Jack Watters, Pfizer's Vice President of
International Medical Affairs. The urgency of these policies are
recognized worldwide(5 )including the introduction of smoking bans as
well as improved access to smoking cessation therapies for smokers
motivated to quit.
In the field of smoking cessation, measures based on compromise
are destined to fail. Pfizer welcomes the important process the
Commission has set in motion by issuing this Green Paper. "The
European Union and Member States should now show the political courage
to endorse the most comprehensive and all-inclusive policy options",
said Watters. "Pfizer will strongly support every effort that leads to
better health and disease prevention in Europe."
(1) "Towards a Europe free from tobacco smoke: policy options at
EU level", published on January 30, 2007
(2) http://www.who.int/tobacco/communications/events/wntd/2007/en/
(3) European Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph
determinants/life style/Tobacco/tobacco en.htm)
(4) British Heart Foundation, European Heart Network, "European
Cardiovascular Diseases Statistics", February 2005 -
http://www.ehnheart.org/files/statistics%202005-092711A.pdf, accessed
April 2007
5 See WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control on the WHO
Website, http://www.who.int/tobacco/framework/en/
