Navigating through storm, smoke and vapors-tobacco control advocacy journey Romania 2015-2018

Despite being an early signatory of the FCTC in 2005, transposed in local legislation, Romania “enjoyed” throughout the years a heavy interference of the tobacco industry with its’ policy development in tobacco control. As a result, multiple attempts for bringing local tobacco control legislation in line with FCTC provisions failed. Early 2015, the first broad-scale effort of the civic community, led by medical associations, resulted in the adoption (Dec. 2015) of a comprehensive smoke-free legislation and enabled its’ successful defense through consecutive attempts for reversal in 2016-2017. As of September 2016, Romania’s tobacco control community has also brought forward the first holistic end-game strategy- 2035 Tobacco-Free Romania Initiative. Engaging with policy-makers and general public, drafting support data for proposed legislative changes, the tobacco control coalition, with its’ over 350 NGO’s members, has navigated its’ way forward despite significant challenges. As a "test-playground" for the tobacco industry, especially in its’ newly reinvented forms (heated tobacco products and electronic nicotine-delivery systems) and with a significant consumption of tobacco among young age group, Romania remains at the forefront of tobacco control policy-making efforts. Its’ successes and its’ challenges portray the difficult journey of any tobacco control effort.