Passive smoking is killing around 20,000 non-smoking EU citizens every year, according to new findings unveiled in the European parliament this week.
The figures, in a report published by the Smoke Free Partnership, a new campaign group supported by EU health and anti-smoking groups estimate that around 80,000 deaths, both smokers and non-smokers suffer from to passive smoking.
The smoke created between puffs is more toxic than smoke inhaled or exhaled by a smoker and kills both groups.
The report drums from an overwhelming support for a total ban on smoking in public places across the EU.
Those most at risk are workers in bars and restaurants, where a smoky atmosphere is common. The report also concludes that the tobacco industry's approach of increased ventilation and separate smoking areas was ineffectual.