Home > Strengthening Europe in the fight against cancer - towards a comprehensive and coordinated strategy.

European Parliament Special Committee on Beating Cancer. (2021) Strengthening Europe in the fight against cancer - towards a comprehensive and coordinated strategy. Brussels: European Parliament.

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[Note: The attached document is a draft and has multiple amendment documents available on the publishers’ website, that involve issues of alcohol and tobacco

See also, updated report and resolution, February 2022 at https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/35750/

I. Cancer prevention in all European policies

1. Strongly believes that preventive actions against cancer should be implemented in all European policies and funding programmes;

2. Calls on the Commission and Member States to design and implement effective prevention measures at national and EU level, based on best practices, independent expertise and guidance;

3. Acknowledges that more than 40 % of all cancers are preventable through coordinated actions on social, individual, environmental and commercial health determinants;

4. Supports the aim of the Horizon Europe Cancer Mission to avert more than 3 million additional premature deaths over the 2021-2030 period , by accelerating progress in cancer prevention and control programmes and creating more equal access to these programmes;

5. Deplores the significant health inequalities in the EU as regards cancer prevention; insists on the need to pay special attention to vulnerable and marginalised populations in order to ensure their access to cancer prevention services;

6. Acknowledges that tobacco use, in particular cigarette smoking, is by far the largest preventable cause of cancer in the EU, as the cause of 15-20 % of European cancer cases and the main risk factor for cancer death in Europe (27 % of cancer fatalities equalling 700 000 cancer deaths annually in the EU); recalls that major differences exist across the EU since the proportion of smokers varies more than fivefold from one country to another;

7. Strongly supports the goal of a ‘tobacco-free generation’, as set out in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, where less than 5 % of the population uses tobacco by 2040, compared to around 25 % today;

8. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to review the Tobacco Products Directive10, the Tobacco Products Tax Directive11 and the legal framework on cross-border purchases of tobacco by private individuals in order to introduce the following:

a) an increase in minimum excise duties for all tobacco products, which could result in a reduction in tobacco use, notably among young people;

b) a requirement for plain packaging and the obligation to include health warnings on 80 % of the front and back of cigarette packaging;

c) a ban on flavourings in all tobacco products to reduce the appeal of these products to non-smokers and young people;

d) an authorisation for Member States to introduce a ban on plastic cigarette filters on health and environmental grounds;

e) the continuation of evaluations of the health risks related to electronic cigarettes and the establishment of a list of substances contained and emitted by these products at European level, based on the model published by the French Agency for Health Security;

9. Calls for the rapid implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, paying specific attention to the protection of public health policies from the vested interests of the tobacco industry.

10. Supports the Commission’s proposal to update the Council recommendation of 30 November 2009 on smoke-free environments12 to extend its coverage to emerging products, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, and to extend smoke-free environments, including outdoor spaces;

11. Recalls that ethanol and acetaldehyde in alcoholic beverages are classified as carcinogenic to humans by the IARC, and that in Europe an estimated 10 % of all cancer cases in men and 3 % of all cancer cases in women are attributable to alcohol consumption;

12. Welcomes the Commission’s target of achieving a reduction of at least 10% in the harmful use of alcohol by 2025; encourages the Commission and the Member States to promote actions to reduce and prevent alcohol-related harm within the framework of a revised EU alcohol strategy13; supports the provision of better information to consumers by improving the labelling of alcohol beverages to include prominent warning labels and introducing the mandatory indication of the list of ingredients and nutritional information; calls for the prohibition of alcohol advertising at sport events and for the prohibition of alcohol sponsorship of sport; considers it important to protect children from commercial communication on alcohol consumption, as well as product placement and sponsorship of alcohol brands, especially in the digital environment; calls for the strong monitoring of the implementation of the revised Audiovisual Media Service Directive14; encourages the allocation of public funds for national and European awareness campaigns; supports the planned review of EU legislation on the taxation of alcohol and on cross-border purchases of alcohol by private individuals and a review of alcohol pricing policies, including increasing taxes on alcoholic beverages;

29. Underlines that tobacco and alcohol consumption, poor nutrition, a high body mass index and a sedentary lifestyle are risk factors common to other chronic diseases; believes, therefore, that cancer prevention has to be implemented in the context of an integrated chronic disease prevention programme, in close cooperation with the Steering Group on Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Management of NonCommunicable Diseases;

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