Organizations call for approval of tobacco control measures without exceptions

A group of actors advocate that the tobacco control package approved by the government should be fully defended in Parliament because it is the “lever” needed to curb tobacco and nicotine use.

“Restrictions and/or phase-outs seriously undermine the impact of these measures, both in terms of reducing tobacco use and improving health, social and economic benefits. Likewise, the tobacco and nicotine-free indoor environments and their extension to outdoor spaces specified in the bill must be comprehensive and contain no exceptions,” the subjects defended in a letter to government and parliament released on Tuesday.

For a group of organizations led by the Portuguese Society of Pulmonologists, who already warned about this situation in a letter sent at the end of May to the government and parliament, there can be no improvement in public health or the sustainability of the SNA. “without decisive action to promote health and prevent chronic diseases.”

The letter has now been published in the context of a parliamentary debate on a new tobacco law, and the signatories are calling “on behalf of civil society organizations, public health, tobacco control and patient associations in the country” for a directive to withdraw certain exemptions applicable to heated tobacco products. products is quickly transposed into national legislation and that the law is adopted “in accordance with public health scientific evidence and tobacco control evidence(s).”

“Portugal is paying a heavy price for its inertia in tobacco control, both in economic costs and in damage to the health and well-being of its citizens,” the organizations say, emphasizing that the majority of Portuguese support tobacco control policies, according to Eurobarometers. .

“Our common duty, and especially the duty of the dignitaries in Portugal, is to protect the public health and well-being of the citizens of the country by promoting the strict regulation of tobacco products,” they note, arguing that “limiting tobacco sales points and vending machines should be comprehensive, not partial, and should not be amended to allow for further exceptions.”

They also argue that the marketing, promotion, sponsorship and advertising of tobacco and nicotine products (electronic devices) should be “effectively eliminated” through strong regulation. “All these measures must be approved and must not be relaxed,” they say.

Together with the letter, the organizations publish a summary of the available scientific information and the impact on public health of the main measures to be approved and / or improved in the bill, in addition to the corresponding reasoning.

“Globally, it has been demonstrated that only by updating and periodically reviewing smoking control policies based on scientific evidence (information) can governments reduce smoking and the harm it causes. In Portugal, tobacco consumption has recently increased,” they emphasize.

The non-governmental organization Action Against Smoking and Health (ASH) also sent a letter to the Portuguese government warning that tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death worldwide, killing more than eight million people every year.

“In addition to negatively impacting the right to health and the right to life, tobacco harms countless other human rights such as the right to development, environmental rights, children’s rights, and women’s rights,” the NGO letter says. the Lusa agency had access.