After the European Parliament rejected the Commission’s proposal to ban vaping in all public spaces, and the day before EU Health Ministers are slated to debate it, Czechia has joined Italy and voiced opposition to the proposal.
“[W]e believe that policies that aim to protect public health should be rational, realistic and based on prevention and harm reduction”,
the Czech government said in a statement to other Member States dated 28th November, the same day as the European Parliament rejected the proposed ban outright; and seen by Clearing the Air.
If Italy and Romania failed to support the proposal tomorrow alongside Czechia, all eyes now turn to Berlin, where the upper chamber (the Bundesrat) has already rejected the proposal and the government has imploded, leading to fresh elections next year.
If Germany were also to oppose the proposal, then it would be rejected, effectively killing it.
Senior German politicians - including CDU Health Spokesman in the European Parliament Peter Liese - have already called for the ban to be scrapped. The current government, however, is a temporary coalition of the Greens and Socialists without a Parliamentary majority, who may support the proposal as one of their final acts before Federal elections they are sure to lose to Liese’s CDU.
As such, if the proposal were to pass with German votes, it would lose all legitimacy with the incoming German Government, likely led by Friedrich Mertz, a staunch advocate for deregulation.
In its statement, Czechia reaffirms the country’s commitment to harm reduction which has seen its smoking rates fall faster than any other EU country in recent years.
“Our national policy…supports a balanced and realistic approach to addiction policy, including tobacco policy. This approach not only focuses on prevention but also supports harm reduction as one of the main pillars of our policy applied towards those adults who cannot or do not wish to quit smoking. In such cases, policies that reduce the health risks associated with smoking are seen as valuable tools for improving public health”, the Czech statement reads.
“[A]ccording to the latest scientific evidence, the use of new and emerging tobacco and nicotine products may pose lower health risks compared to traditional tobacco products….In line with this, the Czech Republic advocates for measures that take into account the relative harm and societal risk of different tobacco and nicotine products”.
Ominously for the Commission, Prague also confirms that support for harm reduction will inform its stance when the Tobacco Products Directive - Europe’s rulebook for nicotine - is reviewed. “[T]his approach will be reflected on behalf of the Czech Republic in the expected revision of the [Tobacco Products Directive]”, the statement concludes.
