It is a piece of information which concerns few people … but whose symbolic value is very important. This Thursday, November 9, 2017, Pope Francis decided that from 2018, the sale of cigarettes in Vatican territory would be prohibited.
“The reason is very simple: the Holy See cannot contribute to an activity that clearly affects the health of people,” Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said in a statement. “No profit can be legitimate if it puts lives in danger. “
Each year, according to statistics from the National Association for Prevention in Alcoholology and Addictology (ANPAA), tobacco is responsible for 73,000 deaths in France: on average, the life expectancy of a smoker would be reduced by 20 to 25 years compared to that of a non-smoker. The World Health Organization (WHO), for its part, estimates that cigarettes are the cause of more than 7 million deaths each year worldwide.
Smoking in public places, banned since 2002
This is not the first time that the Vatican authorities have taken action against smoking: already in 2002, the country had promulgated a law banning smoking in public places. On the other hand, the sale of cigarettes remained authorized in the (tax-free) store of the Papal State.
Since an operation undergone at the age of 20, Jorge Mario Bergoglio (the real name of Pope Francis) has only lived with one lung: in 90% of cases, pneumonectomy is carried out following a tumor disease and makes it possible to ‘avoid the onset of lung cancer – a pathology whose risk is multiplied by 15 in cigarette addicts. Pope Francis is now 80 years old.
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