New Swiss platform warns of dangers of passive smoking
Concerned by the Swiss government's refusal to ratify the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, prevention campaigners in Switzerland are launching a new platform. Passivesmoke.ch focuses on the dangers of passive smoking and vaping.
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New data published by Addiction Switzerland as part of the “Health and Lifestyle” survey confirm worrying developments in consumption patterns, particularly among young people, says a statement issued on Wednesday by the Swiss Association for Tobacco Prevention (AT).
Electronic cigarettes are now becoming the main gateway to nicotine for many adolescents, with the combined use of several products progressing rapidly.
AT points out that smoking remains the biggest preventable health risk in Switzerland. The spread of e-cigarettes, snus, nicotine sachets and other products is increasing rapidly: 45% of 18- 24-year-olds already consume them, a figure described as “disturbing” by AT.
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Faced with these findings and, in AT’s view, the passivity of a parliament influenced by the tobacco lobby, it was therefore decided to launch Passivesmoke.chExternal link in cooperation with the Swiss Lung League. This is the first national platform dedicated to the dangers of passive smoking and vaping, a neglected and almost forgotten topic in the current debate, according to AT.
These unintentional exposures are, however, an everyday reality for many people in Switzerland, particularly in communal living quarters or shared indoor spaces, the statement highlights.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control includes scientific measures to reduce tobacco and nicotine consumption, for example through advertising bans or tax increases. Switzerland, AT emphasises, is one of the few European countries that has not implemented this commitment.
Against the advice of the government, a majority in parliament last March ruled that ratification of the convention would amount to a surrender of sovereignty in favour of international standards.
Adapted from Italian by AI/ts
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