By Martin Banks - 17th June 2011
Young people start smoking because they are led to think it is cool
John Dalli
The commission has launched a new campaign aimed at encouraging smokers to stub out the killer weed.
The "ex-smokers are unstoppable" initiative aims to provide smokers with "practical" help to make them quit.
Launched on Thursday by EU health and consumer policy commissioner John Dalli, the three-year drive will focus on the "positive" effects of stopping smoking.
Dalli said, "Young people start smoking because they are led to think it is cool.
"They continue because tobacco is addictive and over 650,000 people die out of smoking in the EU every year."
The campaign is aimed at smokers aged between 25 and 34, representing almost 28 million people in the EU.
It will use ex-smokers and their "achievements" as "role models" to inspire those who wish to quit.
One in three people in Europe smoke and tobacco is the single largest cause of avoidable illness.
The first tobacco control legislation in the EU was introduced in the 1980s and since then there have been further laws in the field of product regulation and advertising.
The first EU-wide awareness-raising campaign ran from 2002 to 2004.
Dalli said the latest initiative was a "natural" progression and shifts the focus from the dangers of smoking to the advantages of quitting.
He added, "Public authorities have a role to play in helping citizens break the cycle of addiction and avoidable death and illness.
"This is what the campaign is about. I am confident that the initiative will help smokers understand they have much to gain from quitting."
