Eight out of ten Portuguese feel exposed to tobacco abroad

More than eight out of ten Portuguese believe they are exposed to outdoor tobacco smoke, and this percentage places Portugal among the countries in the European Union with the highest levels of exposure.

The finding is part of a study conducted by researchers at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, the National School of Public Health and the University of the Interior of Beira, accessed by the Lusa agency.

This systematic review of the various available data shows that 93.3% of the Portuguese claim to have been exposed to tobacco smoke on restaurant terraces and esplanades, 88.7% on beaches, 87.3% at bus stops, 81.5% in sports stadiums, 83.3% in parks, 72.8% in schools and 71.9% in hospitals.

“These data are very worrying because there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke, which causes the same diseases as active consumption, such as cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and infections,” said Sofia Ravara, a professor at the University of the Interior of Beira and one of the main authors of the study.

As he told Lusa, these exposure levels require the country to have “a good tobacco smoke protection law, as provided for in the original bill” announced by the Department of Health.

“The law must be clear, without exceptions, ambiguities and moratoriums. It should be comprehensive and include various open spaces where studies show that people are exposed,” the specialist recommended, noting that in the case of esplanades and terraces, the exhibition “occurs always, regardless of whether there is a ceiling, wall or roof.

“Let’s be clear: exceptions, moratoriums and ambiguities cause sickness, death and suffering in addition to social and economic costs,” he warned.

The professor at the University of the Interior of Beira has also defended health education campaigns that promote the toxicity and harmful effects of tobacco smoke on health, as well as the need to protect non-smokers and vulnerable populations such as workers, children, adolescents and pregnant women.

“This critique of a systematic review reveals an unacceptable truth that urgently needs to be changed. Portugal does not have an effective public health strategy to protect against exposure to tobacco smoke, because public policy fails both in the formulation and implementation of measures, and in their monitoring and evaluation,” the expert complained.

Another study by the same researchers concludes that “the burden of mortality from tobacco is high and varies significantly by region, sex and age.”

In 2019, tobacco use was responsible for 13,847 deaths in Portugal, 9,859 (71.2%) of men and 3,988 of women, accounting for 12.3% of all deaths among Portuguese adults aged 35 and over, according to the document.

The study states that of the total deaths attributed to tobacco, “at least 22.2% are premature deaths in people under the age of 65, representing 20.7% of the total deaths seen in the 35 to 64 age group.”

“There are alarming data in the Azores and Madeira. In the autonomous regions, tobacco-related mortality is very high for all diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, which is similar to cancer mortality, in contrast to regions of Portugal with a higher socio-economic level and greater social and medical equity, where there is a clear decrease in mortality from cardiovascular diseases,” emphasized Sofia Ravara.

This means that “tobacco reinforces health inequalities,” the pulmonologist said.

The current tobacco law has been in place since 2017, and on May 11, the Council of Ministers approved a new diploma that intends to “go further” in sales restrictions and consumption restrictions, arguing that it is “a very serious public health problem.”

One of the measures originally envisaged in the bill was a ban on the sale of tobacco at gas stations, which was contested by representatives of the sector and which the government abandoned on the grounds that in some places “the place where you could buy tobacco was too far away.”

With the diploma now in the Assembly of the Republic, the government intends to create a “tobacco-free generation by 2040”, also taking into account the new consumption patterns that have emerged with products such as heated cigarettes, especially among young people.