Novel Smoke-free Policies

Novel smoke-free policies to protect children as part of a tobacco endgame: assessing international and local experiences to generate transferable lessons for the Netherlands, 2019-2021

Children have the right to grow up in a smoke-free world. Smoke-free environments are an essential tool to protect children from tobacco smoke. Research clearly demonstrates that existing policies to create smoke-free places are effective in preventing the adverse health consequences related to tobacco smoke exposure (TSE) among children.

As part of a tobacco endgame strategy, existing smoke-free regulations in enclosed public places are now being expanded in various places across the globe to also cover outdoor and private spaces, henceforth referred to as novel smoke-free policies (Figure 1). Possible examples include implementation of:

1. legislation prohibiting smoking in private vehicles when children are present in various UK jurisdictions;
2. smoke-free inner-city areas in Kyoto, Japan; and
3. smoke-free multi-unit housing regulations in the United States.

What is the exact nature and scope of novel smoke-free policies? And what are their human rights implications? Can we balance the human rights of everyone involved in the selected novel smoke-free policies?

These are just some of the questions that the UG research team on novel smoke-free policies aims to address.

The UG research team

The project’s leader of the legal component is Prof. dr. Brigit Toebes, Chair of Health Law in a Global Context at the Faculty of Law University of Groningen (Department of Transboundary Legal Studies/Groningen Centre of Health Law).

Contact: b.c.a.toebes rug.nl

The legal research on the novel smoke-free policies will be conducted by Dr. Aikaterini Tsampi, Assistant Professor of International Law and Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Law, University of Groningen (Department of Transboundary Legal Studies/Groningen Centre of Health Law). Dr. Tsampi, specialized in case-law from the European Court of Human Rights, will explore the human rights dimensions of the novel smoke-free policies with emphasis on the human rights balancing test. The ultimate aim of the research is the identification of a human rights approach to tobacco-free policies.

Contact: a.tsampi rug.nl

Further research will be conducted on the legal latitude of smoke-free policies in Rotterdam and Groningen and their human rights implications. This part of the research will be carried out by Michelle Bruijn, PhD Candidate and Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Groningen (Department of Legal Methods and Legal History).

Contact: l.m.bruijn rug.nl

Research outputs (as of October 2020)

• Publications

Aikaterini Tsampi, ‘Novel Smoke-free Zones and the Right to Respect for Private Life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (on the occasion of the Dutch Decree of 22 June 2020, amending the Tobacco and Smokers' Order introducing the obligation to impose, designate and enforce a smoking ban in the areas belonging to buildings and facilities used for education)’ 2020(2) Europe of Rights & Liberties/Europe des Droits & Libertés 381-398

Jasper Been, Anthony Laverty, Aikaterini Tsampi & Filippos Filippidis, 'European progress in working towards a tobacco-free generation' 2021 European Journal of Pediatrics .

Aikaterini Tsampi, 'Dataset: Novel Smoke Free Zones' (DataverseNL, 15 April 2021)

Aikaterini Tsampi, 'The European Court of Human Rights and (Framework Convention on) Tobacco Control' 2021 (advance article) European Convention on Human Rights Law Review 1-43

Aikaterini Tsampi & Ellen Henricson, 'Dataset: Tobacco Control in the Conclusions of the CoE European Committee of Social Rights' (DataverseNL, 17 June 2021)

Aikaterini Tsampi, 'The European Social Charter in the Fight for Tobacco Control: "Don't you forget about me"' (GHLG Blog, 18 June 2021)

Aikaterini Tsampi, Jasper Been, Michelle Bruijn &  Brigit Toebes, 'Expansion of Smoke-Free Policies: Stepping Up FCTC’s Game',  4-Mar-2022 (E-pub ahead of print) European Journal of Health Law 1-14  

• Activities

Aikaterini Tsampi, Novel smoke free policies and human rights: balancing the unbalanced?, Presentation at the 8th European Conference on Tobacco or Health (ECToH), 21 February 2020, Berlin-Germany

Aikaterini Tsampi, Rights-based approaches to Tobacco Endgame in Europe, Presentation at University of Queensland-University of Groningen-Universitas Indonesia, The importance of integrating human rights-based approaches to facilitate the Tobacco Endgame, 9 December 2021, online panel event

Novel-smoke free policies: a multidisciplinary project

The legal research conducted by the UG research team forms part of a broader multidisciplinary project on smoke-free policies, bringing together research from Medical Sciences, Law, and Media and Communication (see Project Leaders). This multidisciplinary project focusses on the effectiveness of novel smoke-free policies in reducing tobacco smoke exposure and improving health among children, on the legal barriers and facilitators to implementation, and on determinants of public support for such policies.

This project will provide the first comprehensive assessment of novel smoke-free policies across the globe. The aim of this project is to produce transferrable lessons for implementing effective approaches in the Netherlands. Combining knowledge from various scientific backgrounds, this research will ultimately contribute to the realization of a Smoke-free Generation.

The project, which is funded by the Dutch Heart Foundation, the Lung Foundation Netherlands, the Dutch Cancer Society, the Dutch Diabetes Research Foundation & the Netherlands Thrombosis Foundation, is carried out by:

Project Leaders: Dr. Jasper Been, Neonatologist/Epidemiologist, Erasmus MC (Department of Paediatrics/Public Health); Prof. dr. Brigit Toebes, Chair of Health Law in a Global Context, Faculty of Law, University of Groningen (Department of Transboundary Legal Studies/Groningen Centre of Health Law); and Prof. dr. Martine Bouman, Professor of Entertainment Media & Social Change EUR and Scientific Director CMH, Center for Media & Health.

Team Members: Dr. Márta Radó, Postdoctoral researcher, Erasmus MC (Department of Public Health); Nienke Boderie, PhD Candidate on personalized incentives for sustained smoking cessation, Erasmus MC (Department of Public Health); Leonieke Breunis, PhD Candidate, Erasmus MC (Department of Pediatrics); Famke Mölenberg, PhD Candidate in Social Epidemiology, Erasmus MC (Department of Public Health); Dr. Aikaterini Tsampi, Assistant Professor of International Law and Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Law, University of Groningen (Department of Transboundary Legal Studies/Groningen Centre of Health Law); Michelle Bruijn, PhD Candidate and Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Groningen (Department of Legal Methods and Legal History); Dr. Roel Lutkenhaus, Postdoctoral Researcher, Center for Media & Health.

Advisors: Prof. dr. Aziz Sheikh, Professor of Primary Care Research & Development, University of Edinburgh (Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics); Prof. dr. Onno van Schayck, Professor of Preventive Medicine, Maastricht University (Care and Public Health Research Institute); Dr. Esther Croes, Medical Epidemiologist, Trimbos Institute (Department of Drug Monitoring & Policy); Dr. Filippos Filippidis, Lecturer in Public Health, Imperial College London (School of Public Health).