Scotland: C/O SNP Headquarters, 107 Mcdonald Road, Edinburgh EH7

RESPONSE TO THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION GREEN PAPER ON A EUROPE FREE FROM TOBACCO SMOKE: POLICY OPTIONS AT EU LEVEL

March 2007

SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY - FIGHTING FOR AN INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND IN EUROPE

Scotland: c/o SNP Headquarters, 107 McDonald Road, Edinburgh EH7 4NW, Scotland Brussels: European Parliament, 60 rue Wiertz, 08H149, B-1047 Brussels, Belgium Tel: 0032 (0)2 284 5187; Fax: 0032 (0)2 284 9187

Question 1: Which of the two approaches suggested in Section IV would be more desirable in terms of its scope for smoke-free initiative: a total ban on smoking in all enclosed public spaces and workplaces or a ban with exemptions granted to selected categories of venues? Please indicate the reason(s) for your choice.

The policy choice taken in Scotland was for a comprehensive ban without exemption. There were sections who sought exemptions, but the preferred choice was a comprehensive ban. If a ban on smoking in all enclosed or substantially enclosed workplaces and public places is to protect all sections of employment, which it must do, and if it is to be credible, then there should be no exemptions to the ban.

The principle reasoning is that any exemption cannot be defended on grounds appertaining to the objective of the prohibition – namely to protect workers from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). It is indefensible to suggest that workers most susceptible to ETS – in the hospitality sectors – should not enjoy the same level of protection as employees in other sectors. Second, granting exemptions to a general ban will undermine the credibility of the prohibition and may well make its enforcement much more difficult.

Question 2: Which of the policy options described in Section V would be the most desirable and appropriate for promoting smoke-free environments? What form of EU intervention do you consider necessary to achieve the smoke-free objectives?

The arguments set out in the Green Paper are persuasive of the health and economic benefits that will accrue if this ban is enforced across the EU. The Commission makes a good case for enacting binding legislation at the EU level to achieve this end. However, EU legislative proposals also have to pass a ‘subsidiarity’ test and we are not convinced that a draft EU Directive would meet that test. The question of subsidiarity is not explicitly addressed in the Green Paper, and this is a weakness of the binding legislation option.

In our view legislation protecting workers from ETS should be enacted domestically, within the Member State concerned and at the relevant legislative level. This is the approach followed in Scotland. In our view this added considerable legitimacy to the legal measure. Very quickly an implicit consensus emerged that the smoking ban was a ‘good policy’, and the health and economic benefits were speedily acknowledged. Arguably the proximity of the legislature (the Scottish Parliament) to the individual citizen was an important feature in making the smoking ban a success in Scotland. It had credibility. It is unclear if this would equally be the case should an EU-wide smoking ban be enforced by EU-level legislation. Difficulties of SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY - FIGHTING FOR AN INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND IN EUROPE

implementation and enforcement could be envisaged – difficulties that are avoided where the legislation is rooted in the communities which are affected by it. An appropriate way of tackling this may be through the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) approach. This provides an opportunity for effective transfer of ‘best practice’, and offers a vehicle whereby the local/national experiences of enacting and implementing a smoking ban can be shared. In addition, the OMC is a collective EU governance structure that respects subsidiarity. In this issue the experience from within the EU and in the USA is that locally enacted legislation on smoking in places of employment will command a higher degree of legitimacy and therefore authority. Consequently it is more likely to succeed in its aims.

Alyn Smith MEP on behalf of the Scottish National Party

SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY - FIGHTING FOR AN INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND IN EUROPE

This paper represents the views of its author on the subject. These views have not been adopted or in any way approved by the Commission and should not be relied upon as a statement of the Commission's or Health & Consumer Protection DG's views. The European Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper, nor does it accept responsibility for any use made thereof.