Restrictions on outdoor smoking? Which European countries apply it?

Smoking rules could soon become stricter in Europe, with the UK reportedly considering a possible ban on smoking on pub and restaurant terraces and the European Commission set to propose new recommendations for smoke-free environments. smoking tomorrow

While some European countries have banned smoking near schools, outside workplaces or in sports stadiums, Sweden is the only European country to have completely banned smoking on restaurant and bar terraces, according to the Smoke Free Partnership (SFP). , a coalition of European NGOs.

Smoking has been decreasing in Sweden since the early 1980s and now has the lowest smoking rate in all of Europe. Overall, nearly a quarter of Europeans smoke, according to the Eurobarometer 2022 survey, with figures ranging from around 8 percent in Sweden to 37 percent in Bulgaria.

Smoking is also the biggest preventable health risk in European Union (EU) countries, killing around 700,000 people a year, but all countries have slightly different smoking regulations. Secondhand smoke is also known to cause lung cancer and heart disease in non-smokers.

However, the European Commission aims to create a "smoke-free generation" where less than 5 percent of the EU population will use tobacco by 2040 as part of its plan to beat cancer.

There are EU-wide directives requiring states to have a minimum rate of tobacco tax, a ban on flavored products and some common packaging rules, but smoke-free legislation is decided by member states, according to Lilia Olefir, director of Smoke Free Partnership (SFP).

Olefir expects that the Commission's new recommendations may cover new tobacco products and restrictions on outdoor smoking. In some European countries, there are partial bans, such as specific smoking areas in parks and other public places, rather than a broader ban.

Anti-smoking advocates say there is much to be done, especially in European countries with high smoking rates that do not have plain packaging or high cigarette prices.