European Policy and Public Health
In democratic countries, progress in any area of life cannot be achieved without appropriate state policy expressed in sound legislation. The same applies to public health and its components, namely prevention and healthcare.
In aging societies, additionally exposed to numerous health risk factors, both behavioral and environmental, healthcare costs are beginning to exceed the capacity of public finances. It is no coincidence, therefore, that we —citizens, member states, and the European Union— are increasingly speaking out about the need to intensify preventive healthcare efforts. Prevention at every level — primary, i.e., health education; secondary, i.e., restricting access (taxes, excise duties, bans in public spaces, general banning) and disease screening. And finally, tertiary prevention, i.e. reducing the consequences, complications, and harm reduction.
In the case of most behavioral factors, this may seem obvious. However, decades of stagnation and the lack of effectiveness in tobacco and alcohol eradication demonstrate that previously effective social strategies and legal regulations need to be updated. It’s worth considering the countries that have achieved the greatest success in specific areas. In the case of cigarette smoking, these are undoubtedly Sweden, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. It seems that the greatest successes are achieved by countries that combine very strict and effectively enforced regulations (advertising bans, restrictions on smoking areas, neutral packaging) with harm reduction policies and easy access to NRT.
Europe has set a goal of reducing the smoking rate to below 5% by 2040. If this is to be realistic, rapid action is needed both at the EU level and in most member states.
Chair: Andrzej Fal – Poland
Speakers:
- Martin Smatana – Slovakia
- Ranko Stevanović – Croatia
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Speakers
