All Euro 2012 stadiums in Poland and Ukraine are to ban smoking. On Thursday, UEFA announced that it will enforce a complete ban on the use, sale or promotion of tobacco in all Euro 2012 areas.
The tobacco-free policy will be implemented in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Heart Federation (WHF), the European Healthy Stadia Network, local organizing committees (LOCs) in Poland and Ukraine and local health advocacy groups.
“A tobacco-free Euro 2012 is about respecting the health of our spectators and everyone else involved in the tournament,” said UEFA president, Michel Platini. “We uphold the highest standards of health, safety and comfort at our flagship tournament and tobacco does not fit within them,” Platini said.
Androulla Vassiliou, the European commissioner responsible for sport, urged host cities to ensure smoke-free public transport, restaurants and fan zones.
“Football and sport are about health and performance, and tobacco is about the opposite – they just don’t mix,” she stressed.
The total ban on tobacco consumption, sale and promotion at Euro 2012 goes beyond local restrictions and is a logical step in UEFA’s commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles through football. This is a core theme of its football and social responsibility activities, which use football to help focus on some of Europe’s top health, social and environmental problems says the official UEFA web page.