BRUSSELS, Belgium, Dec 3, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - EU countries are poised to push for stricter anti-smoking rules on Tuesday, backing bans on smoking and vaping in many outdoor areas including playgrounds and cafe patios.

A recommendation inviting member states to crack down on second-hand smoke -- and vapour -- will be on the table as health ministers from the bloc's 27 nations meet in Brussels.
 
It is likely to be approved, according to diplomatic sources, despite political divisions on the issue -- on display last week when the European Parliament voted against a similar text.

The recommendation would be non-binding, as health is a competence of individual member states.

But it gives an indication of the policies governments could pursue in the future as they seek to reduce smoke-related deaths and ailments.

Following an initial proposal by the European Commission in September, a draft document calls on EU countries to extend restrictions in place for cigarettes to cover "emerging products", such as heated tobacco devices and electronic cigarettes that are increasingly popular with young people.

Governments should "provide effective protection" from aerosols emitted by these in indoor environments such as offices and public buildings.

Such protection should also be granted in some outdoor areas, it says.

This in practice entails that all smoking should be banned in locations including swimming pools, beaches, zoos, rooftop bars and restaurant terraces.

- 'Violation of individual freedom' -

The push comes as the EU is aiming to reduce its smoking population from around 25 percent now to less than five percent of the total by 2040, as part of its "Beating Cancer Plan".

Tobacco use is estimated to kill more than eight million people globally each year, including about 1.3 million non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke, World Health Organization (WHO) statistics show.

Emissions from electronic cigarettes also typically contain nicotine and other toxic substances that are harmful including to second-hand smokers, according to the WHO.

But treating smoking and vaping the same way is contentious.

In a joint declaration seen by AFP, Italy and Romania said calls for a ban on outdoor vaping lacked scientific basis and should have not been included in the recommendation.

The two countries should nevertheless back the text, according to a diplomatic source.

The European Parliament last week voted against a resolution on the same subject, after lawmakers on the right passed amendments to differentiate between traditional tobacco products and electronic devices.

This drew the ire of the left, which had supported the original text but rejected its watered down version.

"We see the outdoor smoking ban as a violation of individual freedom," Pietro Fiocchi, a lawmaker with the hard-right ECR group, said in a statement.

The parliamentary resolution, which would have had only symbolic value, was turned down with 378 votes against and only 152 in favour.