EU health commissioner warns against smoking

European Commissioner for Health Vytenis Andriukaitis gestures during an interview at an event marking World Cancer Day, while on an official visit to Athens on Monday. “The more we understand about the causes of cancer, the more we realize that we need to get ahead of this disease,” the European official said. Andriukaitis pointed to the risks of obesity, alcohol abuse and unhealthy diets, but particularly stressed the perils of smoking, which he described as “the single largest avoidable health risk,” saying it claims nearly 700,000 lives in the European Union every year. [InTime News]