The European Commission has called for a total smoking ban across 27 countries - and warned it would legislate if necessary to turn the European Union into a "smoke-free zone".
A new report says laws drawn up by Brussels would impose an "enforceable basic level of protection" against the risks from passive smoking, which is still heaping significant economic and health care costs on society.
But the Commission acknowledges that such a move would take time and "the end result could be difficult to predict".
Instead member states are also being asked to consider stepping up their own measures, either through voluntary codes or national legislation.
EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said he wants to see a comprehensive ban on smoking in all public place in the EU by the end of his term of office in mid-2009. How the target should be achieved is the subject of a consultation paper.
Despite the growing anti-smoking momentum in most of Europe, passive smoking still kills 79,000 people in the EU every year and adults who are in daily contact with a smoker increase their mortality rate by 15%, even if they have never smoked themselves.
The Commission says that about one third of the EU's 480 million population still smoke - almost 38% of men and 23% of women.
The priority is a co-ordinated efforts towards a "smoke-free Europe", the report goes on, adding: "Comprehensive regulation would have the biggest potential to de-normalise smoking in society, creating an environment that encourages smokers to cut back or give up smoking and discourages young people from taking up smoking."
A Commission spokesman said: "If there was support for the legislative route, and that remains to be seen, we would look at that option and we could bring in legislation under health and safety at work provisions. That would cover the work environment but would not necessarily cover all public spaces."
The report says no safe levels of exposure to "environmental tobacco smoke" have been established - and such smoke contains 4,000 chemicals including more than 50 known carcinogens.
I read this and was really quite disapointedwith a complete smoking ban in all public places .imo this is just getting ridiculous and it is also an invasion on human rights.Smoking is a personal choice and should not be banned in all public places,if it continues like this it is going to go the same way as drugs eg illegal
