Legislation & policy

The European Commission’s plans for new tobacco and nicotine regulations have hit a major obstacle. The Commission’s own scrutiny board has issued a negative opinion on the impact assessment for the proposed Tobacco Products Directive (TPD3). Delays now appear inevitable, forcing EU Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi back to the drawing board. The EU’s efforts to […]

As Europe prepares to rewrite its tobacco rules, the EU has an opportunity to make a real difference to public health. But policymakers need to start in the right place. The goal cannot be to tackle all nicotine products with the same tools. The goal must be to reduce deadly smoking. Europe is facing one […]

Spain was set to become one of Europe’s most restrictive countries for nicotine pouches and other nicotine products. Now, those plans have been put on hold. The Spanish Parliament has officially been dissolved, meaning the government’s proposed amendments to the country’s main tobacco law, Law 28/2005, have automatically been shelved. The legislation included sweeping changes […]

The European Parliament has provided an early indication of how nicotine pouches could be treated in the next generation of EU nicotine regulation. Last week’s vote on Parliament’s resolution on cardiovascular health prevention, while non-binding, offers important political signals ahead of the European Commission’s expected revision of the EU tobacco and nicotine framework in late […]

The Spanish government has taken an unexpected step in its ongoing regulation of nicotine pouches. After more than a year of political debate and over 4,000 stakeholder submissions, the Spanish government has now raised its proposed nicotine cap from 0.99 mg to 4 mg per pouch. While the level remains low compared with products currently […]

First Argentina. Now maybe Australia. For years, Australia was held up as a global role model in tobacco control. Prescription-only vapes. A ban on nicotine pouches. Sky-high tobacco taxes. Among a number of recommendations, the Senate committee’s report on the illegal tobacco crisis in Australia calls for lower tobacco excise, stronger enforcement and New Zealand-style […]

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 […]

France says it is fighting nicotine. In reality, it has created Europe’s largest black market. As legal alternatives are banned, consumers are being pushed straight into the hands of criminal networks. France likes to present itself as a leader in the fight against nicotine. High taxes and outright bans on products such as nicotine pouches […]

For too long, tobacco control has treated taxes, restrictions, and bans as the only serious tools for reducing smoking. But as Europe prepares its next generation of nicotine rules, that old playbook is no longer enough.  A Challenge to Old Tobacco Control Assumptions  A new scientific editorial is challenging one of the central assumptions behind modern tobacco […]

In Brussels, they sit and write the future of Europe. Not as a vision of freedom, innovation, or quality of life—but as a detailed rulebook for how you should live your life, chew your food, and manage your own habits. It’s called public health. In practice, it is lifestyle politics. At the center stands the […]