Overall, the project achieved the objectives defined and completed all the studies planned. In October 2019, the Final Conference of the project was held in the EU Parliament during which main project results and policy recommendations were presented to key stakeholders. The main project results and key messages are summarised below.
• At least weekly exposure to SHS among non-smokers is highly prevalent in most European countries (31% overall, ranging between 24% in Ireland and 68% in Greece), especially in indoor and outdoor settings of hospitality venues, workplaces, homes and cars
• Smoking occurs and SHS is present in almost all outdoor terraces of bars and restaurants across Europe, with higher levels during evening and night periods and in more enclosed terraces, even in countries with legislation in these settings
• Smoking occurs and SHS is present in most playgrounds and entrances to schools across Europe, especially in deprived neighbourhoods and countries with lower tobacco control climate
• Occasional exposure to SHS in outdoor settings worsens some respiratory parameters in non-smoking patients with asthma and COPD
• Across Europe, three out of five smokers allow smoking in their home, with very high levels of SHS exposure detected, potentially affecting children and other bystanders
• Personalised feed-back provided to smokers on how their smoking impacts household air quality encourages them to reduce their consumption indoors and make their homes smoke-free
• SHS levels in cars of smokers are very high, with nicotine concentrations exceeding those observed in smokers’ homes
• The burden attributable to SHS exposure is still substantial in the EU, mainly due to SHS exposure at home
• In 2017 in children aged 0-14 years, exposure to SHS at home was associated with 344 deaths and 37,000 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) across the EU. The figures for non-smoking adults were 30,000 deaths and 712,000 DALYs
• The annual cost of lost DALYs due to exposure to SHS is 356 million (of Purchasing Power Parity Adjusted euro of year 2017) on average in the EU 28 Member States
• Despite the generally low prevalence of e-cigarette use in Europe, exposure to aerosols is frequently reported in various indoor settings. In Europe, one out of six non-users are at least weekly exposed to e-cigarette aerosol
• E-cigarette aerosol impairs air quality with particulate matter, nicotine, volatile organic compounds, and heavy metals
• Individuals exposed to e-cigarette aerosol showed immediate alterations of their lung function and experienced symptoms of eye, nose and throat irritation
The exploitation and dissemination of the results was conducted during the project and will be continued after the official end of the project. Dissemination activities include presentation to European Commission bodies, scientific manuscripts and scientific conferences, mass media (newspapers, radio, TV, etc.) and social media.
