Brussels, 22/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - "Feel free to say No" is the slogan of the EU campaign against smoking in young people between 12 and 18, a campaign in which the UEFA is taking part just before the kick-off of the World Cup, on 31 May, which is also the World Anti-Smoking Day.
Commissioner David Byrne and UEFA President Lennart Johansson signed the cooperation agreement in Copenhagen on 17 May during the warm-up match between Denmark and Cameroon. Several television spots with well-known football players will be shown for the first time at the press conference just before kick-off. UEFA intends to appeal to national football associations to support the campaign among young people.
Eight smokers out of ten begin smoking between the ages of 12 and 18. "Let's face it: a young boy or a young girl who starts smoking and gets hooked by the nicotine no longer has a real choice. That's why we want young people to feel free to say no to tobacco while they still have the choice", explains Commissioner David Byrne. The period between 12 and 18 is a determining age in which the smoking habit is rejected or acquired. According to a recent study by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the age of young people trying tobacco is falling while the number of young smokers in all EU Member States is increasing. In Denmark, according to a survey carried out in 1997 and 1998 by the regional arm of WHO, 18% of young people aged 11, 41.5% of 13-year-olds and 66% of 15 year-olds have already smoked.