The Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) provides a unique platform as the only organisation with the mission of uniting at the European level, national and regional cancer leagues to achieve a cancer-free Europe. In coherence with the FPA 2018-2021, this SGA focuses on the core activities to be implemented in 2020 in respect of the following strategic objectives:

1) Informing policy to ensure cancer control remains high on the political agenda;
2) Promoting the European Code Against Cancer (ECAC) as the essential tool for cancer prevention;
3) Supporting leagues in the implementation of the Council Recommendation on Cancer Screening;
4) Uniting leagues to advocate for equal access to treatment, support, and rehabilitation for cancer patients;
5) Advocating for the European Guide for quality improvement in cancer control to be mainstreamed in national cancer plans.

These objectives will be achieved by several actions, including:

- Organisation of the 8th European Conference on Tobacco or Health and publication of the latest Tobacco Control Scale report including data from 38 countries in the European region;
- Implementing the MEPs against Cancer (MAC) European elections manifesto through coordinated actions of the group, supporting four structured meetings of the group;
- Publishing the final report of the systematic evaluation of impact of the European Code against Cancer and informing policymakers and the scientific community of results;
- Enhancing the ECL Youth Ambassadors programme to reach at least 40 European Countries and all EU member states in 2020;
- Supporting the roadmap towards a 3rd implementation report on cancer screening in the EU;
- Publication by the Patient Support Working Group of new guidance and training at the national level to address cancer in the workplace;
- Continuation of the advocacy work of the ECL Access to Medicines Task Force implementing the 2018 'Let's Talk Access' White Paper on Equal Access to Medicines.
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The overarching goal of the SFP Coalition multiannual work programme between 2018 and 2021 is to prevent cancer and chronic diseases through smoking prevention at EU and national level with a special focus on young people and health in all policies. In the third year of the multi-annual programme, the SFP Coalition will work on:

- The multi-annual campaign for raising tobacco excise duties through national and EU-level policy advocacy
- The multi-annual campaign to raise awareness of and support for tobacco control research
- Developing and implementing an awareness campaign towards policy-makers to recognize the crucial role of tobacco control in the prevention of non-communicable diseases and promotion of sustainable health systems in both national health policy and in development policy
- Encouraging civil dialogue by continuing to build capacity of health organisations to engage in the monitoring the EU’s track and trace system and its 2018 strategy and action plan to fight against illicit trade.
- Developing an evidence-based advocacy campaign for strengthening tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship regulations at national and EU level
- Raising awareness and building broad support for tobacco control and FCTC obligations amongst policy makers and the health and research community
- Coordinating European civil society positions and activities at the 9th session of the Conference of the Parties to the FCTC and 2nd Meeting of the Parties to the Illicit Trade Protocol, with a view to supporting global advocacy and actionable decisions for civil society in the EURO region
- Monitoring, exposing and rebutting tobacco industry interference (throughout all policy and advocacy work).

SFP will also continue engaging Coalition members in EU level campaigns and supporting national efforts to improve tobacco control policies by strengthening capacity for effective civil dialogue and tobacco control advocacy at national, European and global levels.
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In the fourth and last year of the multi-annual work programme under our FPA 2018-2021, the Smoke Free Partnership coalition work plan for 2021 will continue the work towards the achievement of the overarching goal of preventing cancer and chronic diseases through smoking prevention at EU and national level with a special focus on young people and health in all policies:
- The campaign for increasing minimum excise duties on tobacco products as part of the revision of the EU Tobacco Tax Directive.
- The campaign to promote tobacco control research.
- The campaign to recognise the role of tobacco control funding within international development assistance programmes at EU and member state level as part of chronic disease prevention and sustainable health systems.
- The campaign to reduce and eliminate the tobacco industry interference in the fight against the illicit trade of tobacco products at EU and global level.
- The campaign to strengthen tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS) restrictions and enforcement at national and European level.
- The campaign to communicate the role, value and impact of FCTC implementation to policy makers in EU and national institutions, particularly in the context of the lessons drawn from the coronavirus crisis for European health systems.
- The ongoing activities to monitor, expose and rebut tobacco industry interference across all policy work.
- Co-ordinating European civil society advocacy ahead of, during, and after the 9th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the FCTC (COP9) and the 2nd Meeting of the Parties to the Illicit Trade Protocol (MOP2) .
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Efforts to mitigate the devastation of tobacco-attributable morbidity and mortality have advanced in Europe and consist of the adoption of the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), and the WHO FCTC. In addition, European Commission’s Green Deal, a milestone for cancer prevention, recognises the importance to address reinforced measures to limit tobacco use while Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan aims to reduce the cancer burden for patients, their families and health systems. In the face of a changing tobacco product landscape, where dual- and poly-tobacco use has become an increasing public health problem, strategies for addressing the tobacco epidemic must also evolve. COVID-19 pandemic also confirmed how vulnerable smokers, e-cigarette users, novel product users or those exposed to second-hand smoking can be, as preliminary data showed that they are at increased risk for severe symptomatology, hospitalisation, admission to an ICU or even death.

In past years ENSP illuminated new challenges the tobacco control community faces with the emergence of new products that undermine tobacco control and cessation efforts and created evidence fact sheets on taxation, tobacco flavours and heated tobacco and facilitated high-level discussions. ENSP also devoted its work to provide evidence on the 2020 Menthol Ban and emerging EU market trends (the entry of Juul) to ensure that stakeholders, from EU policy makers to the public are provided with “evidence-based” information. Moreover, a pervasive challenge expressed by ENSP Network Members in 2019/2020 is the continued interference and new tactics employed by the tobacco industry that has become more clandestine, even in the period of COVID-19 pandemic.

An evolution of the 4-year strategy detailed in the FPA, the 2021 ENSP annual work programme is structured into 4 general objectives that stem from a problem analysis area, to be addressed through 8 operational objectives continuing to further develop sustainable activities.
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The Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) is the only Coalition of national, pan-European and international NGOs working exclusively on EU policy analysis and advocacy linked to the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Since its creation in 2005, SFP has led many successful campaigns to advance important EU smoking prevention policy areas, most notably European smoke-free policies and the Tobacco Products Directive, but also the EU Tobacco Tax Directive and policies against illicit tobacco trade. SFP has been recognised for its tobacco control work by the World Health Organisation with the World No Tobacco Day Award in 2011. SFP was also a recipient of the American Cancer Society’s 2015 Luther L. Terry Award for outstanding global achievement and exemplary leadership in Tobacco Control.
This application demonstrates how our strategic objectives directly respond to the first three specific priority areas of the 2017 Call for Proposals for Operating Grants. In particular, SFP and its Coalition Partners will assist the EU institutions and national governments with information and evidence-based intelligence and advice for the development of smoking prevention policies and the promotion of healthy lifestyles to prevent cancer and chronic diseases at EU and national level with a special focus on young people, reducing health inequalities, and promoting health in all policies. SFP will contributing to civil dialogue processes to increase public authorities’ commitment in this area by spearheading successful campaigns and building advocacy capacity among civil society organisations. This application also describes how we will contribute to the objectives of the European Solidarity Corps.
Based on our previous track record of producing results, this application also demonstrates how SFP and its Coalition partners will continue to contribute to the overarching and specific objectives of the Third Health Programme (2014-2020).
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