Interview: EU public spaces should be smoke free - Kyprianou

EU health chief, Markos Kyprianou says he is actively working to ensure that public spaces across Europe are smoke free, but doubts whether a complete ban can be achieved in the foreseeable future, in an interview with EUpolitix.com/the Parliament Magazine.

The Cypriot commissioner agrees that if tobacco was introduced today, no EU member state would give it approval, but has to live with the reality that a third of adult Europeans smoke.

“As a politician I have to deal with the world as it is,” he explains.

“The reality I face is that around one in three adult Europeans smoke.  I am confident [though] that we can reduce this.”

Kyprianou also agrees that it is illogical to both subsidise farmers to grow tobacco and to actively discourage the public from smoking, and intends to continue EU policy to ‘decouple’ subsidies from tobacco production.

The commissioner is also keen to mobilise action against obesity, and has recently set up a special group to investigate new initiatives to encourage Europeans to eat more healthily and exercise more.

“My goal is that by next year business, civil society and governments across the EU will be doing significantly more that they currently are to counter Europe’s obesity epidemic.”

“I am looking to see action that produces concrete results, not just a few token gestures.”

Kyprianou also has his eye on advertising alcohol on TV, and intends to tighten up legislation so that young people are not targeted by alcohol marketing.

And he would like to see the EU’s newest member states invest more in health provision.

“Some of the central and eastern European member states spend a significantly lower percentage of their GDP on healthcare than other EU countries.”

“My message to them is that investing in health infrastructure can help their competitiveness as much, if not more, than investing in roads and power stations.”

For the full transcript of the interview with Markos Kyprianou, click on the ‘further reading’ link to the right.

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