Romania jumped 12 places in the Tobacco Control Scale report, from 19th in 2013 to the 7th position in 2016, mainly due to the smoking ban enforced last year.

This is the biggest positive jump ever registered by a country, according to a statement from the Romanian Ministry of Health.

The 2016 Tobacco Control Scale was launched on March 23 at the 7th European Conference on Tobacco or Health (ECToH). It presents the results of the development and implementation of tobacco control policies in 35 European countries, using a tool called Tobacco Control Policy Scale.

The European countries were assessed based on the measures considered essential components of comprehensive programs for tobacco control, as recommended by the World Health Organization and the World Bank.

“Romania’s jump of 12 places, from 19th in the 2013 to 7th in this report, emphasized in this report as a spectacular progress, is due to the adoption of the legislation banning smoking in enclosed public places, the adoption of the European Directive on tobacco products, as well as the initiation of the most extensive debate on public health along with the legislative changes,” reads the statement from the Ministry of Health.

“The jump is also reflected in the unprecedented level of support among the general population for tobacco control policies, a level that recent studies assessed at 85%.”

Romania thus joins the leader-group of the European countries that prioritize and give due consideration to the fight against tobacco consumption, as it is considered one of dependencies with devastating effects on public health.

The report is published once every three years, the last one, which was referring to 2013, being made available in 2014. Back then, Romania ranked 19th in the 2013 Tobacco Control Scale, down 3 places compared to the previous report.

The UK ranks first in the 2016 Tobacco Control Scale report, followed by Ireland, Iceland, France, and Norway. Austria, Germany and Luxembourg are at the bottom of the scale.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com