03.12.2024 The EU Member States today adopted a far-reaching recommendation for smoke- and aerosol-free environments. It provides for effective protection of non-smokers not only indoors, but also in outdoor places where people gather in confined spaces.
Pro Rauchfrei very much welcomes the fact that the EU Member States adopted a new recommendation on smoke-free and aerosol-free environments at today’s Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council.
The recommendation is in line with our long-standing demands for an improvement in the protection of non-smokers in public spaces. This is long overdue. The health and freedom of non-smokers must finally be prioritised. Public spaces do not belong to the tobacco industry. The freedom to smoke ends where others are harmed.
This applies both indoors and outdoors. Scientific studies show that exposure to tobacco smoke can also be hazardous to health outdoors. We list a selection of scientific studies at the end of this article.i
The composition of toxic smoke and aerosols outdoors does not differ from that indoors. Smoke and aerosols form plumes that reach a higher or lower concentration depending on wind direction and distance. In addition, the smoke can also pass through open doors and windows into indoor areas that are actually smoke-free and cause pollution there. This can cause considerable health risks, especially for asthmatics, heart patients and people with previously damaged lungs. There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke, even outdoors. According to scientific findings, it is not possible to set a limit value for the toxicity of tobacco smoke in the ambient air. Even small amounts inhaled passively can promote tumour growth, for example.
We also welcome the fact that non-smoker protection is recommended for all products that emit smoke or aerosols, such as tobacco heaters, e-cigarettes, tobacco substitutes and herbal smoking products. In Germany, this must also apply to cannabis in view of its legalisation. It is important to establish clear, standardised regulations for all harmful emissions. This is the only way to ensure comprehensive and effective protection.
According to the recommendation, the member states should develop national strategies and programmes to ensure effective protection against exposure to tobacco smoke and aerosols in ambient air. We appeal to the future German government to tackle this without delay. Improving tobacco policy must be a priority in the next legislative period. (Passive) smoking is the greatest avoidable health risk. In Germany, one person dies from tobacco smoke approximately every four minutes. Smoking costs the healthcare system and the economy 97 billion euros a year. There is an urgent need to counteract this with better health prevention, as recommended by the EU member states.
According to the recommendation, complete non-smoker protection should be guaranteed without exceptions for smoking rooms
• at all workplaces in enclosed spaces,
• in all enclosed public spaces, and
• in all public transport.
A ban on smoking in cars should also be considered if minors or other vulnerable people are travelling in the car.
Furthermore, a smoking ban is also recommended outdoors in places where people congregate in a confined space. This includes:
• Outdoor catering,
• Leisure areas such as public playgrounds, amusement parks, swimming pools, beaches, zoos,
• Stops, including bus, tram and train stations and airports,
• outdoor areas associated with healthcare facilities (hospitals, clinics, health centres, nursing homes and similar facilities),
• outdoor areas associated with facilities where children and young people are educated and trained (pre-school facilities, primary and secondary schools, vocational training and education facilities, universities, youth centres and similar facilities),
• outdoor areas associated with a workplace,
• Places where open-air events take place, open-air stages, spectator areas at public events and areas of publicly accessible buildings that are likely to be heavily frequented (e.g. entrance areas of shopping centres, courtyards of publicly accessible buildings)
i Sources on outdoor passive smoking
- E. Henderson et al., Secondhand smoke exposure assessment in outdoor hospitality venues across 11 European countries, Environmental Research 200 (2021) 111355 (The current restrictions in outdoor catering areas across Europe have only a limited protective effect and justify the introduction of a complete ban on smoking in outdoor areas of catering establishments.)
- Tong, M., Goodman, N. & Vardoulakis, S. Impact of secondhand smoke on air quality in partially enclosed outdoor hospitality venues: a review. BMC Public Health 24, 1872 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19394-w (Customers and employees in outdoor catering areas where people actively smoke, as well as in adjacent outdoor and indoor non-smoking areas, are potentially exposed to levels of secondhand smoke that exceed the WHO guidelines for particulate matter exposure.)
- Ruprecht, A., De Marco, C., Pozzi, P. et al., Outdoor second-hand cigarette smoke significantly affects air quality, European Respiratory Journal 2016 48(3): 918-920; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.00064-2016 (Zu stark frequentierten Zeiten ist die Feinstaubbelastung in engen Fußgängerstraßen deutlich höher als in Straßen mit starkem Verkehr.)
- Torretta, V.; Tolkou, A.; Katsoyiannis, I.; Schiavon, M. Second-Hand Smoke Exposure Effects on Human Health: Evaluation of PM10 Concentrations in the External Areas of a University Campus. Sustainability 2020, 12, 2948. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12072948 (The fine dust concentration of PM10 outdoors under a canopy exceeds the daily guideline value issued by the WHO. Smoke pollution is particularly high in rainy weather.)
- Klepeis, N. E., Ott, W. R., & Switzer, P. (2007). Real–Time Measurement of Outdoor Tobacco Smoke Particles. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 57(5), 522–534. https://doi.org/10.3155/1047-3289.57.5.522 (Outdoor tobacco smoke can be a nuisance or hazard under certain wind conditions and in the vicinity of smokers.)
- De Marco, C., Ruprecht, A., Borgini, A., Contiero, P., Di Paco, A., Veronese, C., Paredi, Pl., Tittarelli, P., Boffi, R. Will smoking on beaches become a thing of the past? Bibione: The first smoke-free beach in Italy, Pulmonology, Volume 29, Issue 6, 2023, 540-542 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pulmoe.2023.06.001. (The mean BCUV concentrations measured under parasols on the beach in the lee of smokers are higher than the values measured at a traffic junction in the same time window.)