The document discusses the Tobacco Products Directive and its priorities for review. It argues that the Directive is an opportunity to [1] implement measures that help prevent children from starting smoking, such as requiring packs that fully inform consumers about health risks and removing appealing tastes. [2] Around 80 million children in the EU are at risk of starting smoking. [3] A successful Directive with a ban on marketing techniques and additives could decrease tobacco consumption by 2% over 5 years, saving billions of euros and thousands of lives.

1. The Tobacco Products Directive
An opportunity for a generation
Anca Toma Friedlaender, Senior Policy Advisor Smoke Free Partnership
European Economic and Social Committee, 19 February 2013

2. About the Smoke Free Partnership
Our Partners
•Cancer Research UK
•European Heart Network
•European Respiratory Society
•Action on Smoking and Health
The SFP's vision is a world free from the death and suffering
caused by tobacco consumption
The SFP’s mission is the effective implementation of the
WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) at
EU and global level

3. The costs of tobacco
544 bn 135 bn
Cost to society Total market value

4. The costs of tobacco
700,000 deaths
9.94 million years of life lost
7.9 million lost working days
Per year

5. This presentation

6. Priorities for the TPD review
Measures that help prevent children from taking
up smoking

7. TPD priorities
A pack that tells the truth
A taste that tells the truth

8. Why do these measures matter?
They Inform about harm
They Prevent uptake
They Reduce the appeal of tobacco
They Encourage quitting

9. Who do these measures target?
• About 118 million Europeans smoke
• 83 million started before the age of 18
• 17,5 million of EU smokers are 15-24 years old
Sources: Eurobarometer 2012 and Eurostat population data for 2010

10. What is this all about?
Some 80 million children under the age of 15
live in the EU
They are at risk
They are our priority

11. What would be a successful Directive?

12. What would be a successful Directive?
Ban on all ingredients and additives that increase the
attractiveness of tobacco products

13. What would be a successful Directive?
Security and traceability features that help
reduce the availability of illicit products

14. What would be the impact of
a successful Directive?
2% decrease in consumption
over 5 years
That means 2.4 million people

15. What would be the impact of
a successful Directive?
4bn net benefit to the economy per year
2235 jobs gained
16.8 million life-years saved
506 million saved in healthcare costs

16. The challenges to a successful Directive
• Who opposes this proposal ?
• Why ?

17. Key misconceptions about TPD measures
TPD = Increased
illicit trade
TPD = farmers go
out of business
TPD = bad for
business and jobs Plain packaging =
breach of
intellectual
property rights
TPD = no evidence
of effectiveness

18. The biggest misconception of all
OR

19. The facts
• Huge body of proof that packaging works
• No evidence that the proposal would impact
illicit trade
• No evidence that government revenues would
drop
• No evidence that jobs would be eliminated
• Allegations of IPR breaches not proven

20. Public support
Measure Support (2012)
Health warnings on all tobacco products 76%
Standardised plain packaging 57%
Ban on flavourings 63%
Security features on packets 73%
Point of sale advertising bans 64%
Point of sale display bans 58%

21. The opportunity of a generation
• A law that is good for 20 years
• A focus on preventing children from taking up
smoking
• A sustained – and sustainable – reduction in
tobacco use
• A win-win-win situation for public health,
governments, and the EU economy

22. Which one would you choose?

23. Thank you