The initiative “Call to achieve a tobacco-free environment and the first European tobacco-free generation by 2030” was accepted by the European Commission last year, and the organizing team moved forward with the preparation of the signing campaign for 2023. The campaign is officially launched today, on 16th January 2023, and will end on 16 January 2024.
The public launch will be marked through coordinated events organized in each country on January 26, 2023.
In order for the Commission to move forward with the recommendations proposed by this initiative, 1 million statements of support must be collected within 1 year, and reach the specific threshold in at least 7 different Member States.
A European citizens’ initiative is a way for any European to take an active part in EU policy-making. The ECI-TFE calls for a better world, better health, and better environments free from the dangers of tobacco use.
Tobacco pandemic is the first avoidable cause of death. Butts on beaches cause environmental damage to the ocean and its wildlife, and in forests cause fires and contaminate soil and water. To save the new generations from falling into tobacco addiction, in addition to acting forcefully against the environmental dangers caused by cigarette butts and fighting against smoking, it is necessary to:
1. Promote the first tobacco-free European generation by 2028, ending the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to citizens born since 2010.
2. Create a European Net of tobacco-free and butts-free beaches and riverbanks, making these spaces more healthy and environmentally sustainable.
3. Establish a European Net of tobacco-free and butts-free National Parks making them more healthy and reducing contamination and risk of fires.
4. Extend outdoor smoke and vapor-free spaces, especially those frequented by minors (parks, swimming pools, sports events and centers, shows, and restaurants terraces).
5. Eliminate tobacco advertising and presence in audiovisual productions, and social media, especially addressing covert advertising through influencers and product placement.
6. Finance R&D projects for diseases caused by tobacco use to improve their prognosis and make them curable.
In order to achieve our goal of collecting 1 million signatures, ENSP has developed a website containing all the necessary information for everyone to understand the importance of the measures we are advocating for. The website has been carefully designed and translated into all EU languages so that any EU citizen can easily access and disseminate within his/her communities.
To support the initiative, you have to fill in and sign the statement of support available on the Commission’s website. Depending on the country, you should provide different personal information. However, your personal data is collected ONLY by the European Commission and will be used strictly to confirm your identity by the national authorities, and therefore, validate your signature.
Once the initiative reaches 1 million validated signatures, the European Commission is obliged to respond and take action. Who can sign? Any European Union citizen old enough to vote in European Parliament elections (in most EU countries this means 18 years old, except Austria & Malta, where the voting age is 16, and Greece, where the voting age is 17).
Please note that any EU citizen living abroad is able to sign regardless of where he/she is currently located. The signature will be counted in the country of origin.
A QR code has been developed as well to facilitate access to the European Citizens’ Initiative – Tobacco-Free Europe. It aims to provide an easy way to direct European citizens to the European Commission signature collection page by scanning with a mobile phone camera.
The logo isfree to use in any materials promoting our campaign by any European organization after written approval from the organizers. Other materials and logos in different EU languages are also available upon request.
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