Filenews 31 January 2023 - by Despina Psylou
With a cigarette in hand is 14% of the students of Cyprus. 4.5% smoked an e-cigarette, while one in five teenagers had a hookah. Four out of 10 adults also have this harmful habit. These are data presented by the President of the Cyprus Addictions Authority (AAEK), Dr Christos Minas during a press conference, where he presented the launch of a European signature collection initiative. The goal is a smoke-free environment and a smoke-free generation by 2030. Dr. Mina called on Cypriots to participate and contribute to policy making.
In particular, Dr. Mina noted that four out of 10 adults have smoked in the last month, while of those one in 10 smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day. 14% of students aged 15 to 16 smoked in the last month. A percentage, he said, that is lower than the European average and with a downward trend since 2003. 4.5% of students use e-cigarettes daily. One in five students has used hookah in the last month. The findings come from the 2019 survey, and this year's results are expected. "Cyprus significantly exceeds the European average in the use of e-cigarettes and hookahs," he said, adding that "there is a misconception that hookah is not harmful." The water contained in the hookah does not filter toxic products at all, while it contains a host of carcinogenic chemicals, heavy metals and carbon monoxide, whose action is more or less as harmful as that of conventional cigarettes, Dr. Mina pointed out.
Smoking is the number one public health problem internationally, with annual deaths in Europe standing at around 700,000, he said. This is the reason for the European campaign for a smoke-free environment, in which AAEK participates. The initiative belongs to the European Network for Tobacco Prevention (of which AAEK is a member) and seeks to collect one million euros. electronic signatures europe-wide. It started from January 26, 2023 and will last a year. The initiative, Dr. Mina stressed, is a call to the European citizen to exercise his constitutional right and to demand that the European Commission propose and implement legislation on smoking addiction, so that we have a smoke-free environment.
In Cyprus, there are 4,230 signatures, which can be registered either through the website where interested parties (over 18 years old) will submit their details, or through a QR code that exists on the AAEK website.
The actions proposed by the European Network include:
>> Termination of the sale of tobacco products to minors.
>> Creation of a network of rivers and beaches without smoke and cigarette butts.
>> Creation of a European network of smoke-free national parks and cigarette butts.
In addition, it is proposed to expand outdoor areas without tobacco and cigarettes, especially where minors frequent, such as parks, swimming pools, stadiums, entertainment venues as well as outdoor restaurant areas. The elimination of advertisements which indirectly or directly promote tobacco and tobacco products. To fund research projects to improve the prognosis of diseases caused by smoking.
