December 22, 2008

The national campaign of the Serbian Health Ministry and the Institute "Dr Milan Jovanovic Batut", focused on consequences of the passive smoking, has commenced today and will last for a year, it was announced at the press conference. Djuro Malobabic has more.

The campaign is directed at all social categories and will be accompanied by promotional and printed material, ads, TV spots, jingles, billboards and branded buses. The action will be carried out in two parts – the first one will be under the slogan "Tobacco smoke is a serial killer " by August, while the latter part of 2009 will be marked by the motto "Get tobacco smoke out". Health Minister Prof. Dr Tomica Milosavljevic said that a new law is being prepared on ban of smoking in closed premises, which envisages gradual banning of smoking in restaurants that will primarily protect health of the employees and non-smoking visitors. Milosavljevic said that it is estimated that some 25% of deaths due to malign diseases is ascribed to consequences of smoking, 20% of cardiovascular ones, and some 15% of all deaths in Europe stems from this risk factor.
“Some 700 million or half the children in the world today are exposed to tobacco smoke. Along with B-H, Croatia, Georgia and other Eastern European countries, Serbia belongs to countries with the most dramatic situation in view of the smoke exposure of children. This year we will start an initiative for a more stringent law in order to reach the level of the EU countries where in 2009 a law will come in force where in all EU states there will be no smoking in public places. Thus, we will define in Serbia a clear action plan of gradual ban of smoking in all working and public places, with a realistic plan to reach this goal in years to come. We are concerned with the fact that over 19.000 non-smokers in the EU die of passive smoking, because of which the WHO requests of all countries to have all working and public places absolutely smokefree in order to reduce or entirely eliminate exposure of non-smokers," said the Minister.
Regional Director of the WHO Dr Mark Danzon underlined that according to statistics, tobacco is a killer number one, whose impact can be prevented by rigorous measures, including a law banning smoking in public places, increased prices of cigarettes, etc. "This process requires time, as tobacco addiction is deeply rooted in all EU countries, and as long as parents smoke, we will have a circulus vicious, “ Danzon concluded.