Cristina Ruiz
Pilar Pérez Madrid
Madrid
Updated Friday, April 5, 2024-18:12
Despite previous announcements, both from the Minister of Health, Mónica García, and from the general director of Public Health Pedro Gullón, ensuring that the
Comprehensive Tobacco Plan (PIT)
would be approved yes or yes in the Interterritorial Council, it has finally not been approved. been like that. What is known is that the plan has been
presented with the amendments "provided by the Autonomous Communities",
as Mónica García, Minister of Health, pointed out at a press conference after the regional plenary session.
Although García explained in the hearing that the plan had become
a point reported within the CISNS
, which
does not require a vote or endorsements
, it already belonged to that point on the agenda sent to the communities throughout of the week. Specifically, "
5. Information on different initiatives
" under the heading "
f. Information on the Comprehensive Tobacco Prevention and Control Plan (PIT) 2024-2027
", as EL MUNDO has learned.
With this "
plan of intentions
", as the minister has stated, "
we can now implement the corresponding legislative packages
". Here we would be talking about the national regulation of smoke-free spaces (terraces, beaches, playgrounds...) and tax increases, "which we have to agree on and work on with the Treasury."
In reality, it is about sharing what is done throughout the national territory and giving "equity" to the public health measures that some Autonomous Communities already apply, such as the prohibition "on beaches and terraces." As García has stated,
there are already regions that have measures in place
.
Regarding the lack of consensus and adherence to the plan that had been requested, the minister repeated the words from the speech prior to the interterritorial: "
Others will have to explain why they do not want to adhere to this plan
, why they turn their backs on the evidence." scientific, health and its own technicians, who are the ones who have developed the strategy.
Now the next step is to take the PIT or its different aspects as a bill to the Council of Ministers and trace the entire legislative path. García has also mentioned that
we must also see what transpositions
must be made regarding the
EU directives
in each of the necessary sections. There is also no calendar drawn up, with specific dates, as the minister has said.
However, García stressed that today is a historic day "because
we have managed to unearth a plan that was in a drawer
." And he congratulated himself because "today is a great day for public health, today is a great day for individual and collective health and today is a great day for quality of life."