Survey: Majority of Slovenians Support Public Smoking Ban

Brussels, 22 May

The overwhelming majority of Slovenians (93%) support a ban on smoking in indoor public spaces, including restaurants and bars, according to the results of an Eurobarometer survey on tobacco, published in Brussels on Tuesday, ahead of the World No Tobacco Day.

A ban on smoking in indoor public places is supported by 88% of EU citizens, 77% are against smoking in restaurants, while the least - but still a majority - are against smoking in bars (62%).
A ban on smoking in offices, the subway, airports, and shops is supported by 93% of Slovenians. The measure enjoys the greatest support in Ireland, Malta and Sweden (96%), while it is the least popular in Austria (80%).
According to the survey, 23% of Slovenians are smokers, while the same percentage managed to quit smoking.
The survey shows that 32% of EU citizens smoke. Greece and Cyprus have the highest share of smokers, 42% and 39% respectively.
Last year, a third of smokers in the EU tried to quit smoking. More than 70% started smoking again after less than two months.
Almost a half of Europeans (47%) have never smoked. The biggest number of non-smokers (64%) is registered in Portugal, while Slovenia is 6th with 54%.
The majority of Slovenians believe that smoking is a habit without which they would not know "what to do with their hands". A third of smokers in the EU meanwhile see smoking as relaxation, citing a "too stressful life" as the reason for their first cigarette.
Four out of five EU citizens are aware of the dangers of second-hand smoke, which kills about 80,000 people every year. The majority of Slovenians (78%) would not smoke in the company of a pregnant woman, the survey shows.
According to the survey, smoking each year claims the lives of more than half a million Europeans, while it is linked to 25% of cancer-related deaths and 15% of all deaths in the EU.
More than four out of five Europeans support the anti-smoking campaign "HELP - For a Life Without Tobacco", which was launched two years ago by the European Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou.
Presenting today the survey on a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Kyprianou said that an electronic service to help people quit smoking would be introduced on 31 May, the World No Tobacco Day.
He hopes all EU members will have a single anti-smoking policy by the end of his term in 2009. The campaign enjoys the highest support in Ireland, Sweden and Italy, which have already banned smoking in all indoor public places.
Slovenia is expected to follow the trend, as the National Assembly is to pass tough anti-smoking legislation in the first half of this year.

Survey: Majority of Slovenians Support Public Smoking Ban

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