Abstract

VILLALBI, Joan R et al. Smoking control in Spain: current situation and priorities. Rev. Esp. Salud Publica [online]. 2019, vol.93, e201907044.  Epub Sep 07, 2020. ISSN 2173-9110.

This paper presents a strategic analysis of the prevention of smoking in Spain. After a review of the situation of the epidemic and of the current prevention policies with the data available in 2019, it identifies the main problems to improve the prevention of smoking, while proposing strategies and key actions for the future. Considering as major objectives reducing the initiation of smoking and helping smokers quit, the different strategies of action and the key actions to be developed. In addition to helping smokers to stop smoking from the health services, key preventive actions include several public policies including taxation, banning advertising and other forms of promotion, the regulation of tobacco packaging, the expansion of smoke-free spaces, and information to the public on its effects. Some of them have followed a positive path for prevention in Spain but for others there is wide room for improvement. The MPOWER strategy of the WHO offers a guide for the development of the most effective tobacco control policies. In its light it is recommended to put emphasis on actions related to expanding smoke-free areas, to develop distance support services to stop smoking, to periodically carry out advertising campaigns of wide coverage to encourage quitting, to reinforce support for quitting in health care services, to finance pharmacological treatments, to expand the advertising ban to electronic devices that release nicotine, and to increase the tax burden on tobacco and other products delivering nicotine.

Keywords : Smoking; Epidemiology; Prevention; Public policy; Evaluation.

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