[Press Release] Out of touch – European Parliament backs tobacco subsidies & votes an agriculture policy unfriendly to public health

Brussels, 13 March – The European Public Health & Agriculture Consortium (EPHAC) is disappointed by the European Parliament’s approval of coupling subsidies to tobacco production. Tobacco should not have a place in the 2014-2020 EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). With this move, the European Parliament (EP) wants to inject taxpayer’s money into a toxic crop that causes nearly 700,000 annual deaths (1) in the EU. Today’s vote did very little to fix all that is wrong with the EU agricultural policy and the crucial role it should play in protecting people’s health.