Malta is one of 15 European countries which will be launching a website to inform the public about harmful and toxic additives used by the tobacco industry to make cigarettes more attractive.

This project is the brainchild of the RIVM and the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ). The aim is to provide Europeans with objective information about additives, such as how they work and their impact on health.

The websites provide details on 14 specific additives that tobacco companies add to cigarettes. These include glycerine, sugars, cellulose, liquorice, cocoa, menthol and vanilla.

Burning vanilla is known to release a range of different chemicals, including substances which have been classified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

It also inflicts damage indirectly, because by masking the sharp taste of cigarette smoke it made smoking more attractive, especially to new smokers

As a result, they had a substantial impact on public health since smoking was a major factor in the development of lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory diseases. In Europe, nearly 700,000 people died from the effects of smoking each year.

The other countries involved in this partnership are the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Estonia, Austria, the United Kingdom, Norway, France, Finland, Turkey and Switzerland.