Euro vote to end tobacco subsidy

5.45.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Sat 8th Oct 2005

Smoking is associated with several terminal illnesses

The European Parliament Budget Committee has voted to scrap over £500m in subsidies to European tobacco farmers, the money saved earmarked for improving anti-smoking campaigns.

Wolverhampton's Lib Dem member of the European Parliament, Liz Lynne MEP, has repeatedly spoken out against smoking in public places and the subsidies that support the industry.

She said, "This is an excellent step forward. I think tobacco farmers must act to switch their production from tobacco and this will be a helpful means of pushing them in the right direction.

"Axing the tobacco subsidy is a good start, and a necessary one.

"Tobacco farms are often found to use heavy use fertilisers, which can seriously damage the land and surrounding environment. The sooner we can make the switch to more environmentally friendly crops, the better for us all."