EU

In the European nicotine debate, the same mistake is repeated time and time again: policymakers focus on the existence of products rather than the problems they claim to be trying to solve. Now, Poland is at the centre of attention following a legislative proposal that could, in practice, ban large parts of the market for […]

A new analysis based on the European Commission’s Special Eurobarometer 539 survey is already being framed as a warning about nicotine pouches in Europe. But the same numbers tell a different story: nicotine pouch use remains low, smoking remains high, and the EU is missing one of the clearest harm reduction signals in its own […]

The European Commission has launched a new public consultation: Public consultation questionnaire – Revision of the EU rules on tobacco products and tobacco advertising. On the surface, it is about gathering views. In practice, however, the questionnaire raises serious concerns as to whether the EU is genuinely interested in what citizens think – or whether […]

Cyprus has officially stepped away from efforts to force a consensus on the Tobacco Taxation Directive (TED)—exactly as expected. The deadlocked file now moves to the incoming Irish presidency. A Cypriot spokesperson confirmed to Politico Pro Healthcare that months of attempted compromises failed to resolve deep divisions between EU member states. In short: the proposal collapsed […]

The European Commission’s proposal to revise how the EU taxes cigarettes and tobacco-related products has reached a critical point. Bloomberg Tax now highlights Sweden as one of many member states that is set to vote against the proposal in its current form. It is important to understand that this is not an isolated objection. On […]

Poland has notified draft legislation that would ban flavours in nicotine pouches and prohibit all new nicotine products not covered by the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). While presented as a public health measure, the proposal raises serious concerns. In practice, it risks undermining fundamental EU principles and discouraging smokers from switching to less harmful […]

The European Commission is preparing the next major step in Europe’s tobacco and nicotine policy. The new rules are meant to be based on an evaluation of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). However, the Commission now admits that the foundation for this work is incomplete and weak. Because around a dozen EU member states failed […]

When an “EU diplomat” quoted by Euractiv claims that Sweden is facing a “last chance” to compromise in order to give nicotine pouches “legal recognition,” it mainly exposes how badly Brussels has misread the political reality in Sweden – and how little it understands the Swedish model. Sweden has already chosen. The cards are on […]

As Austria moves to go almost further than any other EU country by banning disposable vapes, the European Commission and Sweden are now calling a halt – at least for now. In an unusually sharp opinion, Brussels warns that the Austrian proposal risks undermining the EU’s common regulatory framework and further fragmenting nicotine regulation across […]

Negotiations on the EU’s new Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD) have stalled. Officially, the disagreement concerns technical details and institutional processes. In practice, a far more serious question is emerging: who is actually scrutinising the evidence behind one of the EU’s most far-reaching tax proposals? FISC’s role and influence The European Parliament’s tax committee, FISC, is […]