Press Release: World No Smoking Day : Europe at a crossroads in deciding the future of controls on tobacco

'Europe is at a crossroads in deciding the future of controls on tobacco,' David Byrne, European Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner said on World no Tobacco Day, 31.5.00. A Commission proposal for the most radical ever legislative curbs on tobacco is due for a vote in the European Parliament and the Council of Health Ministers in June. The Environment, Health and Consumer Committee of the Parliament has already supported the proposal. The majority of adult smokers begin to smoke as teenagers without realising the addictive nature of nicotine and the health consequences of tobacco use, which is responsible for over 500,000 deaths annually in the European Union. The majority of teenagers in the European Union (between 49% and 90% 0 have experimented with smoking; in most European countries girls have experimented with smoking more often than boys.