New ambition for the future of Belgium! " Any child born from 2019 must be able to grow up tobacco-free so that they do not start to smoke themselves". This is the ambition of the Alliance for a Tobacco Free Society which presented last Friday his memorandum in view of the elections of 26 May.
"ALL THE POLITICAL PARTIES AGREE WITH THIS OBJECTIVE"
The Alliance for a Tobacco Free Society hopes that the next governments will adopt a coherent set of measures aimed at protecting children from their first contact with tobacco in order to prevent the risk of tobacco addiction and to help smokers in their cessation.
« All parties agree that there is a need to invest additional resources in tobacco prevention and large-scale anti-smoking campaigns, as well as in the provision of free nicotine substitutes for smokers entitled to a increased intervention“, Rejoiced the Alliance after a debate organized Friday morning.
She also said that six other proposals won the support of eight of the nine parties present. Among these proposals are the drastic increase in tobacco taxes and the elimination of price differences between hand-rolled tobacco and regular cigarettes.
« There is massive support from politicians who want to take the necessary steps to make the first tobacco-free generation a reality by 2037“, Concludes the association.
The Alliance for a Tobacco Free Society notably brings together the Foundation against Cancer, the Belgian Cardiological League, the Respiratory Affections Fund, and the Service for the Study and Prevention of Smoking.
NO VAPOTAGE IN MEASURES FOR A FUTURE WITHOUT TOBACCO
In its memorandum, The Alliance for a Tobacco Free Society presents ten measures for a " generation without tobacco "
- Effective introduction of neutral packages for tobacco products
- The legal prohibition of smoking by car in the presence of minor passengers
- The reduction in the number of outlets for tobacco products and the ban on tobacco vending machines
- Invest in mainstream anti-tobacco campaigns
- Free or affordable drugs and pharmacological aids to stop smoking for underprivileged groups of smokers
- Total ban on point-of-sale tobacco advertising
- Excise excise policy against tobacco consumption
- Prohibition of presenting or exposing tobacco products in a visible manner
- Measures to combat the positive image of smoking in films and series and awareness of spectators
If the e-cigarette is largely absent from this memorandum, there are nevertheless some allusions to vaping in the part dealing with the prohibition of visibly presenting or exhibiting tobacco products. It is clearly stated:
« The exposure of tobacco products in stores (tobacco displays) has become one of the main advertising channels for manufacturers. They are used to present tobacco in a positive light.
These displays send visual signals to smokers, in the process of stopping or not, and make them want to consume even more. In addition, they make tobacco products even more attractive to young people, when this audience is more easily influenced than adults. The presence of tobacco displays increases the likelihood of starting to smoke among young people. "
Are we to understand then that the presentation of vaping products can send signals to smokers who are trying to quit smoking? Not sure that Belgium can achieve its goal of “Tobacco-free generation” without highlighting the “best alternative” currently available: The e-cigarette.
Source : 7sur7.be/
