In the face of mass-lobbying by the tobacco industry Greens in the European Parliament are set to vote in favour of protecting people’s health by increasing the regulation of smoking.
Keith Taylor, the Green Party MEP for the South East, is backing Cancer Research UK in calling for strong regulation of tobacco products.
The European Parliament will vote next week on the Tobacco Products Directive. Proposals supported by Mr Taylor include increasing the size of health warnings on tobacco products and banning flavoured cigarettes.
Mr Taylor said:
Next week I’ll be joining my fellow Greens in the European Parliament in taking decisive action to protect people’s health.In the UK 80% of smokers start by the age of 19 and more than 207,000 children, some as young as 11-years-old, start smoking.
I’ll be voting to protect young people from products aimed at enticing them to begin smoking.
The tobacco companies lobbying against this piece of legislation are shamelessly trying to protect their profits by blocking new rules that will prolong the lives of thousands of people.
We have a duty to protect the most vulnerable - our children in the UK and right across Europe - from the dangers of tobacco, which causes debilitating disease, costs economies millions in healthcare and lost labour, and continues to kill 100,000 people in the UK alone every year. 86% of lung cancers are a result of tobacco use.
Mr Taylor went on to say:
It’s no surprise that a quick look into the people behind pro-smoking campaigns shows that they are funded by the tobacco industry. ‘No, Thank EU’ for example is a front for the shadowy lobbying firm ‘Forest’ which is mostly funded by the tobacco industry.[2]
I hope that MEPs from the other political parties follow Greens in rejecting the desperate crowing of the tobacco lobby by voting for increased regulation of this industry that profits from death.
1) http://www.forestonline.org/about/faq/
Martin,
ReplyDeleteI am so Pleased to see that cigarettes is starting to be seen for what They really are( Weapons in a box) because Like Literal Weapons they cause serious injury to the human body
and when they become The cause of 6,000,000 Preventable Deaths per year,
They should undoubtably be Banned.
because they do not benefit those that buy and consume them each day.
and no one can deny that Lung and Throat cancers are Beneficial.
and for governments to use The sale of cigarettes as a Means of Tax Revenue is Disgraceful to say the Least.
after all if it is considered wrong to make a living from the sale of illegal Drugs, which also causes Deaths but not on the scale that Cigarettes Do, Then Why is the sale of Cigarettes still legal in Britain?
That is unjust and Wicked and reflects a seriously corrupt and crooked way of Governing the Country.
Smoking isn't beneficial therefore It should be banned.
Humans are not here to be exploited and the human body was not designed to be abused and neglected.
After all smoking can rightly be described as a form of self abuse and neglect
and it is a senseless habit wickedly introduced by greed driven people and approved by reckless hypocritical people who misuse their authority all for the sake of Profit.
allowing people to Teach others to abuse themselves with Tobacco which is unquestionably Wrong
and the fact that it causes 6,000,000 deaths per year
should leave no doubt that it should be permanently banned
because Health is more important that Profit.
also if Politicians seek to inspire young people about the importance of work and self sufficiency,
How can be acceptable to allow people to use death dealing tobacco as a means of making a Living while the chancellor rakes in billions in tax revenue From the sale of Cigarettes that cause nothing but harm to the human body and pollutes the air we breathe and spoils the environment with the endless cigarette butts and empty boxes?