Dedicated EU Journalist Prize on Smoking Shines Spotlight on European Commission's Anti-tobacco Campaign "Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable"

Brussels (ots/PRNewswire) -

The winners of the EU Health Prize for Journalists were announced
at an awards ceremony in Brussels yesterday evening. German
journalist, Tobias Zick received the prestigious special prize for
articles on smoking. Zick, writing for NEON magazine was celebrated
for his in-depth article "Thick Air", which explores how smoking has
gone from being 'cool' to 'uncool' in Germany. The award is a
noteworthy achievement for the journalist whose work was selected
from amongst wide range of submissions all across the EU.

This marks the second year that the European Commission has
dedicated a specific prize for journalists writing in the area of
smoking, signalling the importance of delivering positive health
messages to the public and reinforcing the European Commission's
commitment to tobacco control across the EU. Responsible for nearly
70,000 avoidable deaths in the EU each year, smoking poses one of the
greatest threats to the health of EU citizens and must be urgently
addressed. Awareness campaigns are an integral part of the European
Commission's pan-European tobacco control strategy and the
"Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable" campaign (http://www.exsmokers.eu), now
supports nearly 335,000 men and women to live smoke-free lives.

Reinforcing the value of "Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable" at the
awards yesterday, was Dr Jordi Monès, Board Member responsible for
the Medical Area at FC Barcelona (FCB). Monès presented the latest
innovation of the "Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable" campaign, Quit Smoking
With Barça (http://www.quitsmokingwithbarca.eu), to convened
journalists. Quit Smoking With Barça is a creative and meaningful way
to further promote smoking cessation across the EU by harnessing the
proven success and tools of "Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable" and the
support and guidance of the internationally renowned football club
via a dedicated online health tool, the FCB iCoach.

Other winners of the EU Health Prize for Journalists were selected
from 557 submissions covering issues related to healthcare and health
services:

1st place: Petr Tresnàk writing for Respekt magazine (Czech
Republic) for his article "Adventures in ward 14", which tells the
story of a psychiatric hospital ward dealing with the most difficult
cases, and a dedicated nurse who made a difference.

2nd place: Ailbhe Jordan writing for the Medical Independent
(Ireland) for her article "Is screening a waste of cash?" which takes
a stark look at the debate on the value and cost-effectiveness of
cancer screening, especially breast cancer.

3rd place: Daniela Cipolloni writing for Oggi Scienza magazine
(Italy) for her article "All those lies spread by umbilical cord
banks", which as its title suggests, looks at the controversial
subject of conserving a baby's umbilical cord for future medical
treatment.

Speaking from the award ceremony, Commissioner Borg said: "All
four journalists awarded tonight pull no punches both in the topics
they raise and the style in which they raise them. Though on diverse
topics such as mental health, cancer screening, cord blood banking
and tobacco control, the common thread in the winning articles is
that they confront uncomfortable issues for which debate is needed at
EU level".

For more information please visit

Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable

http://www.exsmokers.eu

Quit Smoking With Barça

http://www.quitsmokingwithbarca.eu

The Public Health Portal of the European Union

http://health.europa.eu

The Public Website of the European Commission

http://ec.europa.eu/health/tobacco/policy/index en.htm

ots Originaltext: European Commission
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

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