Today on 20 May 2016 the Tobacco Products Directive fully enters into force. Read EPHA’s statement on this historical occasion.
Nina Renshaw, Secretary General, European Public Health Alliance:
“Today’s full entry into force of the Tobacco Products Directive, buoyed by the UK High Court ruling supporting plain packaging yesterday, should mark the end of an era of denial for the tobacco industry. Today is a huge step forward for protecting the health of future generations. Unscathed by the numerous legal challenges brought by ‘Big tobacco’ the Directive empowers national governments to effectively combat tobacco-related diseases including cancers, respiratory diseases (like COPD), cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
EPHA wishes to congratulate all the public health advocates involved for their many years of hard work as well as the European Commission for its perseverance. It shows that close cooperation between public health organisations, EU Institutions and national governments can bring ambitious results that will go a long way to cutting the death toll of tobacco in Europe. We now look forward to national governments making the fullest use of the opportunities of the Directive to save lives.”
For more background on why today is a memorable day, please refer to press releases by a number of EPHA members:
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Smoke Free Partnership
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European Respiratory Society
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European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention
