Catherine Theves, new coordinator of the national strategy Tobacco-Free Generation: “To achieve the ambitious goal of reducing the proportion of smokers to less than 5% by 2040, it is essential to mobilise society as a whole”. (Photo: Claude Piscitelli)

Catherine Theves, new coordinator of the national strategy Tobacco-Free Generation: “To achieve the ambitious goal of reducing the proportion of smokers to less than 5% by 2040, it is essential to mobilise society as a whole”. (Photo: Claude Piscitelli)

Catherine Theves is the new coordinator of the national Tobacco Free Generation strategy. The aim of this strategy is to enable today's children and young people to grow up in a tobacco-free environment, so as to become the first generation of tobacco-free adults by 2040.

What motivated you to join the Cancer Foundation as coordinator of the Tobacco-Free Generation 2040 strategy?

Catherine Theves: “Every year, cancer claims more than 1,000 lives in Luxembourg. It is essential to combat this reality by acting directly on one of its main factors: tobacco. As coordinator, I have the opportunity to make an active contribution to a national strategy that represents a key tool for sustainably reducing tobacco consumption.”

Can you tell us about your role as coordinator?

“My role is multifaceted and central to the implementation of the Tobacco-Free Generation 2040 strategy. I coordinate our network of partners, develop and manage innovative projects, and promote the objectives of the strategy through awareness-raising and advocacy campaigns. My aim is to bring together the key players around this crucial public health issue, while ensuring effective and dynamic collaboration within our network.”

The strategy's target is less than 5% of smokers by 2040. How do you intend to achieve this, and what are your priorities for 2025?

“To achieve the ambitious goal of reducing the proportion of smokers to less than 5% by 2040, it is essential to mobilise society as a whole. This means making young people and adults more aware of the dangers of smoking, actively supporting municipalities and sports clubs in creating smoke-free environments, and advocating to strengthen existing regulations.

In 2025, I will be giving priority to strengthening our collaboration with the municipalities already involved, while encouraging new municipalities to join the smoke-free municipality programme. In addition, the launch of the smoke-free sports clubs programme will aim to increase the number of smoke-free venues. The official launch of the TabaCoffret project in early 2025 will enable us to reach a greater number of young people and step up prevention. Finally, I will be working to create new synergies with our partners by initiating innovative joint projects, always with the aim of a smoke-free generation.”

To find out more about the national strategy Tobacco-Free Generation 2040: .

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This article was originally published in .