Tobacco-free stadia: a case study at the 2016 UEFA European Championships in France

Tobacco use is the leading global cause of preventable death, with around 890,000 deaths per year attributed to exposure of second-hand smoke (WHO 2013). There has, therefore, been increasing international emphasis on implementing measures to reduce the harm caused by tobacco use, including protecting people from exposure to tobacco smoke. The idea of utilising a ‘setting’ to promote health has seen success in several everyday contexts including schools, workplaces, hospitals and prisons. Over the last two decades, there has been increasing recognition that sports stadia, as sites for large gatherings of people, represent a unique opportunity to apply a settings-based approach to public health and health promotion (Parnell, Curran and Philpott 2016). This article discusses the rationale, development, implementation, delivery and outcomes of a complete tobacco-free stadia policy at the 2016 UEFA European Championships in France that exceeded national tobacco control legislation. The chapter closes with recommendations for future implementation of tobacco-free policies within similar settings