EU citizens offered carbon monoxide tests

European Union citizens are to be invited to take part in an EU-wide study to measure the level of carbon monoxide in both smokers and non-smokers.

The initiative is part of the Help For A Life Without Tobacco campaign. Special monitors are being provided to measure the level of carbon monoxide.

The tests will be available at a stand in each of the 25 EU member countries. The stand will arrive in Malta in the coming weeks, and the local representatives of the campaign told The Times that in all probability it will be moved from one place to another to reach out to more people.

Carbon monoxide is a colourless and odourless toxic gas, which is produced by smoking cigarettes, cigars and pipes, and has been nicknamed the "invisible killer". Both smokers and non-smokers are regularly exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide.

Health Promotion Department tobacco coordinator Anne Buttigieg explained that carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in the body, leading to the body not functioning properly. She explained that with smoking, carbon monoxide reaches the lungs within seconds. The body is starved of oxygen and so the heart has to work harder to get enough oxygen to the muscles, especially during exercise.

Ms Buttigieg pointed out that smoking 20 cigarettes in a day is enough to reduce concentration and coordination due to the level of carbon monoxide.

The campaign's organisers said the level of carbon monoxide in smokers is often higher than the pollution warning level in EU cities, while in non-smokers the level of carbon monoxide exhaled increases with the duration of passive smoking exposure.

The €72 million four-year campaign is aiming to encourage as many people as possible to kick their habit. It is mainly targeting teenagers and young adults.

Tobacco related diseases are the second largest avoidable cause of death in the world, with around five million deaths annually. It is also the single largest cause of death in Europe. Among the 25 EU member states, tobacco accounts for over 650,000 deaths annually, the campaign organisers said.