The European Network for Smoking Prevention (ENSP) is an international non-profit association, created in 1997 under Belgium law (identification number 16377/97), which aims to reduce tobacco consumption and to develop a common strategy amongst organisations active in smoking prevention and tobacco control in Europe, by sharing information and experience and through co-ordinated activities and projects.
Our vision is of a future where our fellow Europeans will not suffer the distress of ill health and early death because of tobacco. We want our children to be able to grow up without being targeted with messages that seek to lure them into a lifetime of addiction. We want all Europeans to be able to breathe clean air unpolluted by tobacco smoke.
As we increasingly communicate more freely and cross country borders more frequently, we realize that our individual countries do not stand alone; we feel the reverberations of change throughout Europe. Therefore, we undertake to use the best evidence of effectiveness in policy and practice to work together towards our common goal.
ENSP aims to reduce tobacco consumption and to develop a common strategy amongst organisations active in smoking prevention and tobacco control in Europe, by sharing information and experience and through co-ordinated activities and projects.
The main activities that the association proposes in order to attain its aims are through communication and coordination, and by carrying out the following objectives:
- To facilitate the creation and operation of national alliances for smoking prevention and tobacco control in Europe;
- To promote, support and facilitate collaboration amongst Member organizations;
- To stimulate and participate in joint projects at European level;
- To facilitate networks active in tobacco control and smoking prevention in Europe;
- To undertake the collection and distribution of information relevant for tobacco control to the members of the Network, non governmental organisations, intergovernmental organisations, national governments and the institutions of the European Union.
The network facilitates synergies among its members and with the EU, WHO, European and international health organisations.
We serve as a platform of best practices, for policy analysis, advocacy, research and capacity building.
1) National alliances
The national alliances constantly evolve with time and ENSP adapts its coordination and facilitation work according to the different levels of the national coalitions� evolution. A special focus will be put on:
A) Finalizing the coalition building process and the ENSP membership of Estonia and Malta;
B) Finalizing the coalition re-building and/or strengthening processes in Italy and Portugal;
C) Dynamizing the coalitions� contributions at EU level from Bulgaria and Hungary;
D) Supporting the Austrian and Czech coalitions� struggle against the tobacco industry�s interference at national level.
2) Collaboration
To promote, support and facilitate collaboration amongst Member organizations, the ENSP website will be further developed, becoming the main European tobacco control portal, offering a complete and easy found information process based on the FCTC structure, including links to the EU and international institutions with relevance in tobacco control, direct connections to national coalitions� news, as well as an improved and more interactive �Members Only� section (user-friendly forum, webmail, rss). The new portal will be used like the main tool for all above-mentioned activities being the virtual image of the real ENSP actions.
3) Joint projects
European projects are an important tool to bridge policy and population awareness. ENSP will:
A) Support the elaboration and implementation of European projects by sharing the ENSP experience and knowledge of priorities and strategies, and by connecting possible actors (eg.: RISE, Youth advocacy, �I don�t smoke�).
B) Collaborate to the implementation of European projects (consultation, data collection dissemination of information) (eg.: ACCESS, Smokefree movies)
4) Networks
Networking has proven to be indispensable for tobacco control. ENSP will:
A) Strengthen its support to INWAT Europe (information dissemination and support to activities targeting women);
B) Tighten collaboration and synergies with ENSH (information dissemination and support to activities targeting health professionals);
C) Support joint actions and strategic developments with SFP, ERS, EHN and ECL;
D) Tighten collaboration with the EC in policy developments;
E) Tighten collaboration with WHO, especially in the frame of the FCTC monitoring.
F) Contribute to the EC EUHPF work
G) Contribute to the EC European Partnership for Action Against Cancer work
5) Information
ENSP will undertake the collection and distribution of information relevant for tobacco control to the members of the Network, non-governmental organisations, intergovernmental organisations, national governments and the institutions of the European Union via:
A) the European News Bulletin
B) the ENSP website
C) the participation in conferences
D) the participation in organizing the ECToH2011
E) the organization of a technical network meeting
6) Policy
ENSP will serve as a platform for best practices, policy analysis, advocacy, research and capacity building, especially by:
A) monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies;
B) coordinating the ENSP members� involvement in the FCTC implementation and monitoring process;
C) supporting legislative processes and developments towards a smoke-free Europe;
D) advocating for standardized packaging of tobacco products;
E) further developing the identification of how tobacco control legislation enforcement is organized in the EU;
F) countering the tobacco industry strategies especially as to the oral tobacco expansion;
G) promoting and supporting actions to raise taxes on tobacco products and to tackle illicit trade.
This list of actions is not exhaustive. Indeed, smoking remains the largest single cause of death and disease in Europe, despite progress in tobacco control. Therefore ENSP constantly adapts to priorities and agendas to bring the best up-to-date support to tobacco control to contribute to reducing health inequalities.
The result of the evaluation made in the frame of the ENSP FY 2009 grant agreement may also modify this work programme.