A few weeks ago I had a strange experience arguing with a leading environmental campaigner from Central Europe. The point of the argument being: could you please not smoke while we are together?

Arguing with cigarette smokers is tough. They will first try to convince you that there is no problem: remember the lady next door/block/village who smoked like a chimney until she was 95? Then comes the “everyone-has-to-die” line linked to the individual freedom and choice of lifestyle — or deathstyle in this case.

Both arguments have been long and ultimately proved wrong by science. It is public knowledge today that smoking is an unhealthy addiction with lethal consequences for smokers, as well as for those around them. But as real addicts, smokers keep arguing, and, what is worse, keep smoking. And smoking and smoking, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, where tough anti-smoking rules are mostly unheard of.

Nicotine smoke is one of the major environmental factors that seriously threaten human and — particularly — children’s health, according to a survey presented by the World Health Organization (WHO). Conservative estimates attribute 15-26 percent of the episodes of lower respiratory disease in young children in Europe to exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at home, the WHO says. The survey provides striking evidence that 800,000 people die prematurely every year due to outdoor air pollution. Indoor air pollution, lead, water and sanitation are also listed as vital environmental health factors.

These messages will reach environment and health ministers from more than 52 countries across Europe at their meeting in Budapest, June 23-25. Central and Eastern Europe’s ministers will be there as well, providing a great opportunity for stronger political commitment action to foster environmental health measures and policies in the region.

The ministers of Europe are particularly concened that the burden of disease due to environmental hazards continues to have serious impact on public health. They agree on specific measures and policies, including a special children’s environment and health action plan for Europe. The business sector, academia, the media and other partners, including the REC, are called on to join the effort to solve the problems of environment and health, in Eastern Europe and throughout the continent.

But the greatest difficulty is to enlist each and every person’s involvement. I personally failed: that night I could not convince my environmental friend to stop smoking. His last argument — that we were outside in the open air — was insurmountable, not to mention discouraging. The connection of environment to human health is the strongest argument of environmentalists, used to convince others to quit consuming genetically modified food, sell their cars, and conserve natural resources. Indeed tobacco smoke is not traditionally seen as a hazard to the environment. But it becomes part of it and kills you, the people you know and, tragically, your own children. And if that isn’t reason enough to quit ...

Pavel P. Antonov