Slovenian Coalition for Tobacco Control

SLOVENIA - TOBACCO LEGISLATION REMAINS UNCHANGED

On the 16th of January 2008 the attempt of small Slovenian party to change the tobacco legislation has failed. The legilation enforced in August 2007. Commite on Health of the Republic of Slovenia has, on the 16th of January 2008 unanimously decided that the proposition for the change of the existing tobacco legislation is inapropriate for further proceedings in the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia. The proposal of the existing law was prepared by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Slovenia, Slovenian Public Health Institute, Slovenian Coalition for Tobacco Control and CINDI Slovenia. Tobacco legislation therefore remains unchanged.

We are most grateful to all experts, coalitions, organizations, NGOs and individuals who have helped us with their models of good practice, their experience and guidelines.
We are especially grateful to the director of ENSP, Francis Grogna and his co-workers, Sophie Van Damme, Anna Camoe, Michael Forrest.

We are also grateful to UEN, especailly Marijke Huyds, Jean Tostain, Margareth Whidden, Arne Lund and also to Nichtrauher Freiburg e.V., Swedish NGOs - Health proffesionals against tobacco (Doctors against tobacco, Dentistry against tobacco, Nurses against tobacco, Teachers against tobacco, Pharmacy against tobacco and Psychologists against tobacco), professor P. Bartsch (Fonds des Affections Respiratories), Suomen ASH and Danish coalition on smoking prevention and Danish Cancer Society.

Special thanks to Valerie Coghlan (ASH Ireland) and Dr. Karl Erik Lund (SIRUS Norway) and everyone who has in any way contributed to our efforts, we are looking forward to further cooperation.

SLOVENIAN TOBACCO LEGISLATION - FROM IDEAL TO PRACTICE

In the beginning of August the new Slovenian tobacco legislation came into force. The main feature of this legislation is that it completely bans smoking in all public areas. In addition to this, 45 members of The Parliament voted for and 13 against the new tobacco legislation.
A different, milder legislation implemented before proved to be inefficient and mocked. The main reason for its failure, as we see it today, was the fact that there was not enough funds to hire inspectors on the terrain to check if the legislation was being respected. The result was a complete ignorance of the legislation.
It is important to realize that members of the parliament do not have time to read all legislation in detail so establishing of a dialogue with as many of them as possible is vital for emphasizing the importance of the topic.
The new tobacco legislation is based on latest scientific researches on harmful effects of second hand smoking. As mentioned previously, the new tobacco legislation completely bans smoking in all public areas except;
• hotel rooms and other accommodations
• retirement homes
• prisons
• mental hospitals
• rooms/places intended exclusively to smoking i.e. smoking rooms
Employees in these institutions are not allowed to stay in these rooms/areas unless no one is smoking at the time of their presence.
smoking at the time of their presence.
New tobacco legislation also sets regulations for smoking rooms:
• no drinking or eating will be allowed in smoking rooms
• smoking rooms must not exceed more then 20% of the public area/workplace (e.g. pubs)
Smoking rooms are still prohibited in the institutions/areas where smoking was completely banned before (i.e. educational and health and care institutions).
The next important feature of the new tobacco legislation is that it raises the age limit from 15 to 18 years. The main purpose of this measure is to limit the access of tobacco products to minors. What is more the vendor has the right to demand ID from the customer, if he suspects that s/he is under age.
While lobying for the actions to be undertaken in order to achieve our goal we have to always bare in mind that the young are the subjects that are most vulnerable to the traps of tobacco industry.
Besides the health-risk warnings, every pack of cigarettes will be equipped with the help call number (appointed by the Health Minister) where smoker can get useful advice on quitting smoking.
We believe that motivation and support equals in result as banning and educating. All three factors are equally important and have to walk hand in hand in our efforts if we are to achieve our goal to the maximum extent.

HOW COULD GOVERNMENTS BE MORE PERSUASIVE?

The power most governments have is of an executive nature. They have the power to impose new legislations and the manpower to execute them. They govern with the help of the police and army. Our job is to persuade them and their voters that they are working in the best interest of the public when they decide on legislations such as this one. It has to happen on more than one level. Only passing the legislation is not enough! It may even have a negative result especially when arguments of the two sides are consisted of terms such as human rights, free will, segregation, financial losses for some, addiction (for addiction should not be approached repressively), health issues etc.. The focus has to be on achieving the goal and not to get lost in arguments with which we are distancing ourselves from it. The public has to realize it is not about banning them from doing something but to secure healthy environments where they spend their time.
In Slovenian Coalition for Tobacco Control (SCTC) we are trying to make the Ministry of Health, with which we have a constructive dialogue, the Ministry of Finance and members of the parliament, realize how important it is to implement the TOBACCO EURO. Let us see some of the facts of Slovenian population concerning the tobacco use before explaining why it is important that new tobacco legislations still to be passed should go hand in hand with implementing legislations consisting a complete banning of smoking in public places:
• The prevalence of smokers in Slovenia is high, especially among the young.
• The price of cigarettes is one of the lowest in EU ( 60% of the average)
• We have 23,7% adult smokers.
• High rate of young smokers (especially female - 30,2% of the population)
• The rate of sold cigarette packs puts us on the 5th place in the EU.
• Even if we raise the price for 1€ we would still be seriously below the EU average.
• The practise has proven that a 10% higher price rate means 4% smokers giving up smoking.

We suggest implementing and lobbying for implementation of the Tobacco Euro at the same time as for implementation of the law. The simultaneous implementation has many positive results. However, the sole implementation of the Tobacco Euro (TE) is advisable since it enables the funds for the necessary preeducation mentioned earlier.
• It enables the funds for help lines (there have to be help lines if we are to put their numbers on the cigarette pack and there have to be help lines if we are aware of the fact that we are dealing with a mass addiction.)
• It reduces smoking since the higher price results in giving up smoking.
• It can financially support activities of contra-smoking-propaganda and workshops/activities for the young.
• It enables efforts by NGOs that are in direct contact with the public which members of the parliament do not have access to (such as the young population) in the places where the social interaction happens.
• It enables activities that induce the process of identification. We have to be aware of two facts when it comes to the young. First, if the tobacco industry gets to the young, they have a life-time customer, so they are the most vulnerable (also because of their age, puberty and socialization processes). Second, the tobacco industry builds its marketing strategies on presenting smoking as something 'cool'.
If a government starts its efforts on serious use of tobacco products reduction it has to convince the public they are doing it for the good of the public. Implementation of the Tobacco Euro (TE) means giving back to the society and by that it emphasises the nobility of the efforts and has a positive connotation, while imposing a new legislation can be perceived as the government repressing the public. Legislation and TE, hand in hand will make the public realize their health is important to their leaders.

HOW DOES SCTC SEE THE ROLE OF NGOs IN SUPPORTING THE LEGISLATION? – A MODEL OF GOOD PRACTICE

Slovenian Coalition for Tobacco Control is an association of societies and organizations concerned with public health. We work closely with the Ministry of Health and different institutions around Slovenia. These are some of the projects supported by the Ministry of Health and their concepts:
• 2005: SMOKE FREE WORK ENVIRONMENTS – The project consisted of a series of visits to the bar owners presenting the benefits of the implementation of the new legislation in addition to organizing public concerts, festivals with an aggressive media support. The concept was to reach a big audience to present advantages the new legislation would bring.
• Organizing an international conference with the topic of the project being discussed. It involved models of good practices in countries that have similar legislations for a longer period of time. All three of Slovenian Universities were actively involved.
• A greater organized groupation of relevant NGOs (16 in 2005 with emphasis on the ones dealing with the young population) in order to join the forces and efforts in the struggle.
• A constructive cooperation was established with the Centre of Development and Informing NGOs (250 NGOs direct and 5000 indirect NGO connections), with the Ministry of Health of Slovenia and Slovenian Public Health Institute.
• Searching for the contacts to be able to communicate with the members of the Parliament and regional representatives on the importance of the topic with considderation to ENSP recommendations on a free and comprihendable tobacco legislation.
• 2006 and 2007 projects: REDUCING TOBACCO CONSUMPTION AMONG THE YOUNG (Supported by the Ministry of Health of Slovenia, Slovenian Public Health Institute, Slovenian national Counterpart for Tobacco Control and Cindi Slovenia. Our president Mrs. Mihaela Lovše is a member of the Ministry of health work group and gave support in preparing the necessary documents and formulations for the formation of the new legislation.
• At the moment we are preparing the proposal for the implementation of Tobacco Euro and are working on its promotion and support of the idea.
• Numerous debates visits and discussion have been held and raised at the Ministry of finance of Slovenia as well as EU delegates for support of the TE.
• Informing the public about the benefits of the new legislation through public displays, conferences, public tribunes, press conferences, TV and radio shows, newspaper articles…
• A special focus was on the young population, so we organized non smoking festivals and parties before the implementation of the legislation, motivational and educational camps for high school students, a teenager to teenager education, sports events, visiting schools for the education purposes, implementing the young (O2 belongs to you, electronic development society of young digital artists to use multimedia and marketing approaches – leaflets production).
• Radio shows at radio MARŠ an independent, well established youth and intellectuals radio station. Focusing on the Northeast Slovenian Youth where the rates of young smokers is much higher than in other parts of the Country.
• All the efforts are constructed so that they involve the process of identification with sport stars or activities with other non smoking youngsters, slogans for names of activities such as 'Free hands, clean lungs, Your youth, your responsibility and visual, digital multimedia marketing strategies to present smoking as 'uncool' as the direct opposite to the marketing strategies of the tobacco industry.
• Numerous efforts in media, writing to the members of Parliament, to the President and local authorities.
• Currently we are at the stage of writing an SCTC manifest for support of the newly implemented legislation and implementing the TE, visiting hospitality industry, participating in public and media debates on the topics, fairs (Nature - Health), presentation of activities and help lines to student population on their assembly and gatherings, etc..

HOW TO LOBY?

The vital thing is that we do not loose focus on what we have set ourselves to do. So again and again we have to remind ourselves and others that our efforts will result in ensuring healthier environments, tobacco free for us but also for the ones still to come. It is a higher goal and it is a goal we together can achieve.

SCTC INVITATION

Date: November 13, 2008
Time: 13:00
Place: Center Evropa (Dalmatinova 4), Ljubljana

INVIVATION

SCTC (Slovenian Coalition for Tobacco Control) PRESS CONFERENCE AND ROUND TABLE

The Slovenian Coalition for Tobacco Control invites you to the press conference and round table on the WHO Reccomendations against the tobbaco epidemic (news from the World Cancer Congress 2008).

We will present the projects of SCTC which is supported by the Slovene Ministry of Health and by the European Comission.

Speakers:

- Mihaela Lovše
- Maja Sužnik
- mag. Tomaž Čakš
- mag. Vesna Kerstin Petrič

PUBLIC ATTITUDE TOWARDS SMOKING AND ZOUTI

PUBLIC ATTITUDE TOWARDS SMOKING AND ZOUTI (Tobacco Legislation - Restriction on the Use of Tobacco Products Act) (Source: Ministry of health, Public health directorate, Nataša Blažko)

Public opinion research (representative sample of 1000 citizens of Slovenia; August 07, November 07 and May 08)
It can be observed that the percentage of smokers decreased from 22.3 to 17.5% after the implementation of ZOUTI. In May 2008, the support of ZOUTI increased to 79.2%. About 70% of the people asked believe that the rate of employee incidence of a disease will decrease in the environment unpolluted by tobacco smoke. The belief that ZOUTI will encourage smokers to quit strengthened in May 2008 (46.6%).

The share of those people who due to ZOUTI less frequently visit public hospitality businesses increased from 12.4 to 13.3% from August to November 2007. Indexes of hospitality income increased by a few percents after the implementation of ZOUTI.

Among smokers, 20.5% are such who are trying to quit smoking. The percentage of these continually increases from August 2007 until May 2008 (13.6 to 20.5%). It is evident from the data of the Agency for Public Legal Records and Related services that after the implementation of ZOUTI the activity of restaurants and taverns, especially self-service restaurants, sweetshops, and cafés strengthens.

World research of youth attitude towards tobacco (Source: Medical Faculty, Chair for public health, asist.mag. Mojca Juričič, MD)

Young people in their adolescence discover new things and thus come into contact with tobacco products. Smoking is in this period due to development and growth all the more harmful for the organism, the same goes for the exposure to passive smoking. The author emphasizes, on the basis of the research, where are the points, to which Slovenia should pay more attention:
- consistent implementation of the legislation about the ban of selling cigarettes to children and adolescents;
- inspection of public places – is ZOUTI actually realised?;
- information about the harmful effects of smoking should be made available in an appropriate manner to the young people in schools;
- influence parents and peers, who are smokers, through the young people;
- offer young smokers programmes for cassation and rehabilitation

Age 13 - 15 years, between 2003 and 2007:

- the percentage of young people, who have ever smoked, decreased from 66.4 to 61.6%;
- the percentage of regular smokers decreased from 28.5 to 24.9%;
- the percentage of young people, who started smoking before they were ten years old, and the percentage of those, who answered that there is a chance that they would start smoking within the following year, also decreased;
- the percentage of every-day smokers increased from 7.7 to 11.4%, more distinctively with girls. The percentage of those, who answered that a cigarette was offered to them commercially, also increased from 9 to 11.3%;
- the majority of young people agrees with the ban of smoking in public places, the percentage has increased from 68.7 to 71.4%.

The wide-spread of smoking among the Slovene youth, aged 15 to 16, between 1995 and 2007, ESPAD (Source: Medical Center Ljubljana, Institute of Occupational, Traffic and Sports Medicine, Eva Stergar, MA)

- in the period between 1995 and 2007, statistically typical is the increase of those, who have smoked one cigarette in their entire lives, from 59 to 67%;
- increase of regular smoking from 16 to 27%;
- decrease in the percentage of those, who have never smoked tobacco from 41 to 33%;
- decrease in the percentage of those, for whom smoking was just experimenting.

- Between 2003 and 2007, a decrease in the number of those who have smoked just one cigarette to 61%;
- decrease of regular smoking from 27 to 21.9%;
- the change was probably influenced by the system solutions (the restriction of smoking in public places, the tobacco advertising ban and the ban on sponsorship of events from the tobacco industry, the implementation of systematical education of youth within the school curriculum (Encourage non-smoking – 3rd and 4th grade of primary school until its end).

The author believes that more effort should be placed in the further development and spread of education of non-smoking generations within the school curriculum, and also in the strict implementation of ZOUTI provisions (ban on selling tobacco to people under 18 years old).

SMOKING IN SLOVENIA – STATISTICAL DATA

SMOKING IN SLOVENIA – STATISTICAL DATA Exposure to tobacco smoke (2006-2008)

1. Decrease of tobacco use among the adults from 22,3 % to 17,5 %
2. Decrease in the number of people exposed to tobacco smoke from 27% to 21%
3. Decrease in the number of people who smoke in the enclosed facilities from 17% to 12% 4. 58.8% of smokers are considering quitting
5. In 2006, 57.2% of non-smokers were exposed to cigarette smoke, in 2008 only 44.2 %.

Source: Public Health Institute RS and Centre for the public opinion research at Faculty of Social Sciences (990 adult inhabitants of Slovenia were involved in this research)

KAJENJE V RS – STATISTIČNI PODATKI

KAJENJE V RS – STATISTIČNI PODATKI Izpostavljenost tobačnemu dimu (2006-2008)

1. Upad rabe tobaka med odraslimi 22,3%-17,5%
2. Zmanjšano število tistih, ki so izpostavljeni tobačnemu dimu 27% na 21%
3. Zmanjšanje deleža tistih, ki kadijo v zaprtih prostorih od 17% na 12%
4. O opustitvi kajenja razmišlja 58,8% kadilcev
5. V letu 2006 je bilo izpostavljeno tobačnemu dimu 57,2% nekadilcev, v letu 2008 pa 44,2% nekadilcev
VIR: IVZ RS IN CENTER ZA RAZISKOVANJE JAVNEGA MNENJA NA FDV (Anketiranih 990 polnoletnih prebivalcev RS)

Welcome

This blog was created during the pre-conference tobacco control workshop of UICC 08.

Welcome to the blogosphere Mihaela :)