2024-08-01 17:24:48
World Lung Cancer Day
Attention smokers: Are there going to be more bans on tobacco and other chemicals?
Updated on 01.08.2024 – 12:14Reading time: 3 min.
Smoking remains the “greatest avoidable health risk” in Germany. Therefore, on World Lung Cancer Day, the Federal Drug Commissioner is calling for stricter bans on tobacco products.
The Federal Commissioner for Drug Policy, Burkhard Blienert, advocates giving up smoking. With more than 127,000 tobacco-related deaths per year in Germany, tobacco consumption is “still the greatest avoidable health risk of all,” says Blienert.
He also advocates further bans in the fight against smoking in Germany. “The fact that in 2024 every gas station or supermarket checkout will still be allowed to advertise tobacco and e-cigarettes with colorful advertising images is simply not acceptable,” says the SPD politician. On World Lung Cancer Day this Thursday, Blienert is also renewing his call for a ban on disposable e-cigarettes, so-called vapes.
“These products have a high risk of addiction and are extremely harmful to the environment,” says Blienert. “They lead to young people becoming addicted to nicotine, which they may not be able to get rid of after 30 or 40 years, or even never.” For this reason, lung doctors have been calling for a ban on e-cigarettes for months and pointing out the cancer risk of these products.
World Lung Cancer Day was launched in 2011 by those affected to raise awareness of the disease. In Germany, around 56,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer each year, and around 44,000 die from it. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in men and the third most common in women. The survival rate is around 20 percent and is therefore still low.
The problem: Tumors are often discovered late because lung cancer does not cause any symptoms for a long time. The symptoms of lung cancer only appear later on. These include:
- increasing cough
- Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, wheezing
- Chest pain
- mucous sputum when coughing
Because these symptoms are ambiguous and can only be mild, those affected often initially assume a harmless cause, such as neglected bronchitis. Read more about the warning signs of lung cancer here.
- also read: How quickly the body recovers after quitting smoking
Around 90 percent of all lung cancer cases are caused by smoking. But that’s not all. Blienert says: “Smoking is the cause of more than 200 different diseases and causes economic damage of almost 100 billion euros every year.” That is unacceptable. The federal initiative “Smoke-free Living” supports people in quitting smoking free of charge – for example with a free telephone hotline, inpatient therapy, programs for the world of work and family doctors.
“We have some catching up to do when it comes to making the support services that are already effective visible,” admits Blienert. “Too many people who want to quit still know too little about the smoking cessation services and therefore probably think that a lot of things have to cost money.” The Federal Drug Commissioner also advocates “far more services” that would also be covered by health insurance companies.
Here are some more tips to help you break the habit:
- Quit smoking: How to survive the first ten days better
- Methods and programs: How to quit smoking
The politician says he does not want to ban anyone from smoking. But advertising is effective and encourages young people in particular to consume. Gaps in the regulation of advertising must therefore be closed. For example, tobacco and e-cigarettes should no longer be advertised in supermarkets or petrol stations. In the coalition agreement, the traffic light parties had already agreed in 2021 to tighten regulations for marketing and sponsorship of nicotine.
“And what we also urgently need to address is the sale of disposable e-cigarettes,” says Blienert. It is not enough to wait for their sale to be banned at some point through the so-called battery regulation or other EU channels. “We need solutions – and we need them now.” He finds it disappointing that nothing has happened following his previous calls for a ban on disposable e-cigarettes.
Germany should take the issue of smoking as seriously as other countries do. “Effective measures would be: an end to advertising, no more sponsorship, more help to quit smoking, a ban on disposable e-cigarettes, more consistent protection for non-smokers, for example for parents who smoke in the car in the presence of children, and at some point also higher tobacco taxes.”
On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day in May, health organizations called for the sale of tobacco products and e-cigarettes to be banned in supermarkets and petrol stations and only permitted in licensed specialist shops. The organizations also advocate standard packaging for tobacco products, because the packaging also serves as advertising space. Brands should no longer be recognizable.
The Federal Association of the Tobacco Industry and New Products pointed out that the industry’s advertising options had already been restricted. Since the beginning of the year, e-cigarettes have no longer been allowed to be advertised on posters. Retailers would lose important revenue if advertising bans were to continue.