SMOKE FREE PARTNERSHIP UPDATES

European health organisations are backing the German Medical Association’s call for the German government to maintain the ban on the sale of nicotine pouches, warning that legalising these highly addictive products would undermine public health and run counter to the direction of nicotine regulation across Europe.

A new editorial in Tobacco Control marks the 20th anniversary of the Tobacco Control Scale (TCS), a tool that has helped track and compare tobacco control policy implementation across Europe since 2006. Over two decades, the TCS has become a key resource for researchers, advocates and policymakers, highlighting policy gaps and encouraging countries to strengthen tobacco control measures.

This analysis examines the 2025 KPMG report on illicit tobacco trade in Europe, commissioned by Philip Morris International, and assesses its findings in light of independent public evidence. It unpacks the report's methodology and underlying assumptions, compares its conclusions with data from French and European public authorities, and sheds light on the structural drivers of parallel tobacco markets that the industry's narrative tends to overlook.

The Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) acknowledges the outcome of today’s Strasbourg plenary vote, in which the European Parliament failed to adopt an opinion on the revision of the Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD). While the vote leaves the Parliament without a formal position on the file, it carries significant political weight and keeps the debate on EU tobacco taxation open.

As the European Union advances the revision of its key tobacco control legislation, the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) and the Tobacco Advertising Directive (TAD), the tobacco industry is mounting an unprecedented campaign to influence the policymaking process through the European Commission's consultation process.

Public consultations and call for feedback are a legitimate and essential part of democratic decision-making, enabling citizens, experts and stakeholders to contribute to the development of public policies. However, the scale and nature of the industry's mobilisation efforts risk undermining the integrity of this process and distorting the evidence base on which public health policies should be built.                           
The ongoing consultation process has already received more than 50,000 feedback submissions and over 1,500 responses to the public consultation questionnaire and it is evident that a significant share of these contributions has been driven by coordinated tobacco industry campaigns.

The Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) hosted today the webinar “Where Addiction Begins: How the Tobacco Industry Targets Youth Today”, bringing together experts and youth advocates to examine how the tobacco and nicotine industry continues to adapt its strategies to attract and retain young users across Europe and what should be done to stop it.

Today the Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) launches the Tobacco Control Scale (TCS) 2025, the most comprehensive country-by-country benchmark of tobacco control policy across 37 European nations.

A broad range of European and national public health and civil society organisations have issued a joint letter to the Cypriot Presidency of the Council regarding the ongoing revision of the EU Tobacco Taxation Directive.

As World No Tobacco Day approaches, we are pleased to invite you to an upcoming webinar "Where Addiction Begins: How the Tobacco Industry Targets Youth Today", taking place on 27 May 2026, from 14:00 - 15:30 (CET).

The Smoke Free Partnership welcomes the European Commission’s new, long-overdue, EU tobacco control framework evaluation and its efforts to advance legislation in light of emerging challenges. As the Commission intends to overhaul the current, outdated regulations this year, swift and decisive action remains essential.

Brussels / Hybrid - Apply before 20 April 2026

About Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) 

Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) is a coalition of NGOs working exclusively on EU policy analysis and advocacy related to the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Our vision is a world free from the death and suffering caused by tobacco consumption. 

SFP works with EU decision-makers to ensure that tobacco control receives adequate political attention at the EU level. We promote evidence-based tobacco control policies and support policy research at both EU and national level, in collaboration with European health organisations and tobacco control networks. SFP also advocates for stronger global implementation of the FCTC and works to mobilise EU funding for tobacco control efforts that contribute to poverty reduction in developing countries. 

About the Role 

SFP is seeking a Policy and Research Intern (student internship) to support the implementation of the organisation’s multi-annual strategy and annual work plans. 

The intern will work closely with the policy team. The role combines policy monitoring, research, advocacy support, and project coordination, providing a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in EU policymaking and public health advocacy.  

This internship is intended for students currently enrolled in a university programme who wish to gain practical experience in EU policy and public health advocacy. 

The position is a six-month unpaid internship, based in Brussels (Belgium) with the possibility of hybrid or remote work depending on the candidate’s location and circumstances. 

It is possible to combine the internship with a Master’s thesis or academic research project, depending on the requirements of the student’s university programme. 

Sixteen European NGOs are sounding the alarm over the ongoing revision of the EU Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD). A key advisory body to the EU, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), in its recent report has echoed tobacco industry arguments and is affected by verifiable conflicts of interest, threatening to weaken proposed EU taxation measures proven to reduce smoking.

The latest compromise text on the EU’s Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD), tabled by the Cypriot Council Presidency, confirms a troubling shift away from the Directive’s original public-health ambition, replacing evidence-based reform with a lowest-common-denominator approach aimed at securing unanimity among Member States.

The direction of travel is perhaps best illustrated by the reaction of the tobacco and nicotine industry itself. As reported by Euractiv, industry representatives have welcomed the Cypriot proposal as a “return to reality”, a clear signal that the revised text aligns more closely with commercial interests rather than with the EU’s health objectives.

“When the tobacco industry applauds a tax reform, it should raise immediate red flags for policymakers,” said Erin Roman, Director of the Smoke Free Partnership. “By ignoring the power of pricing, this compromise text hands the industry a free pass to recruit a new generation of young Europeans into lifetime nicotine addiction.”

Read the full press release below:

After the success of Sweden: Setting it Straight, a webinar held last Tuesday 03 February, the Smoke Free Partnership has created a comprehensive collection of scientific evidence on tobacco products, HTPs, Snus and oral nicotine products.

The document summarises publicly available scientific evidence, policy analysis, and real-world data on tobacco, novel nicotine products, and the so-called harm reduction concept.

It is provided for informational purposes, to challenge misinformation, and to emphasise that preventing nicotine addiction, especially among young people, is the most effective way to reduce harm.

You can download it below

The Smoke Free Partnership publishes a set of 19 infographics presenting the anticipated impacts of this revised directive on price, government revenue and lives saved across EU Member States. 

What the New Infographics Show

• With relatively small TTD-induced price increases 550,000 premature deaths can be prevented.
• Blocking the TTD revision is costing Member States €25.7 billion in lost revenue.
• While young people are rapidly getting addicted to nicotine through new tobacco products, taxation of these products lags.

Methodology

The infographics are based on modelling by Prof. Dr. Ángel López Nicolás (Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena) and work by Dr. Zaineb Sheikh (University of Bath).

To ensure comparability across Member States, the EU-level estimates presented in the SFP infographics were generated using a single harmonised model and a consistent data source. By contrast, analyses produced by national think tanks draw on country-specific models and local datasets, allowing for greater contextual detail in national policy discussions.

How Advocates Can Use These Infographics

We strongly encourage EU tobacco control advocates to use these infographics in their advocacy work by:

• Attaching the relevant country and EU-wide infographic to your next letter to national policymakers
• Sharing these infographics on your social media channels
• Using the data from these infographics in your interactions with national media

Get in Touch

In case you have any questions regarding these infographics, or would like to collaborate with SFP in reaching out to national governments, parliamentarians or media about these data, do not hesitate to contact us at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

After the success of SFP's side-event at COP11 last November 2025, the Smoke Free Partnership hosted today the webinar “Sweden: Setting it Straight”. The evidence-based session explored the realities behind Sweden’s smoking reduction efforts and exposed the
tobacco industry’s misleading narratives surrounding the so-called “Swedish Model.”

You can read the full Press Release below.

Building up on the success of the COP side-event, we are pleased to share "Sweden: Setting it Straight", a webinar taking place on Tuesday, 03 February 2026.  

The webinar will be a crucial opportunity to discover how the tobacco industry and its front groups misrepresent Sweden’s decline in smoking to influence public health discussions and promote snus and nicotine pouches as a so-called “harm reduction” products.

We will explore:
- The actual factors behind the decline in smoking in Sweden.
- The rise of dangerous products such as snus and nicotine pouch, especially among women and young people.
- How the “Swedish model” narrative is used to influence crucial health policy debates.

Experts will share valuable data, insights, and strategies to counter misleading industry narratives and strengthen public health regulation on nicotine products.

You can take a look at the full agenda below

From Monday 17^th till Saturday 22^nd of November, Smoke Free Partnership participated in the 11^th Conference of Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) taking place in Geneva.

This press release presents highlights from SFP’s participation in COP11. Smoke Free Partnership’s perspective on the formal decisions made at COP11 can be found in a separate press release in collaboration with the Comité national contre le tabagisme (CNCT) and Contre-feu.

At the end of the eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), held in Geneva from 17 to 22 November 2025, European public health organizations welcome significant progress on several agenda items, including forward-looking measures, strengthening the environmental framework and strengthening the industry's legal accountability mechanisms. This progress has been achieved in a context of persistent interference by the tobacco industry and coordinated attempts to weaken key decisions.

The 2025 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, released by the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control in partnership with STOP,  reveals that tobacco-industry interference is not only a European concern but a global trend that’s intensifying.

While a few governments have made real progress in protecting policymaking from industry influence, most are still not doing enough to implement and enforce Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC, which requires parties to protect public health from tobacco-industry influence.

This side event at COP11, taking place on the 18 November 2025, will unpack how the tobacco industry and its front groups misuse the narrative of “Smoke-Free Sweden” to promote nicotine pouches and snus across Europe and globally. Despite industry claims, evidence shows rising use of snus and nicotine pouches in Sweden, particularly among young people and women, and significant dual use with cigarettes. Sweden’s decline in smoking is largely the result of strong tobacco control measures, not a shift to alternative nicotine products.

The event will debunk misleading interpretations of the “Swedish experience,” highlight the real state of play in Sweden, and examine how these tactics are being used to influence EU and global policy. Speakers from Sweden, The United Kingdom, Norway, France, Netherlands, Denmark and Kenya will share challenges and successful approaches in countering industry narratives and regulating nicotine pouches, including insights from countries that have banned or strictly regulated these products.

The Smoke Free Partnership today published the Europe Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2025, an independent analysis of how 25 countries in the WHO European Region are affected by tobacco industry interference and how well they implement WHO FCTC Article 5.3 safeguards. The report shows persistent, and in many countries growing industry influence over public policy at the expense of public health.
The report documents evidence of Tobacco industry influence across seven indicators reflecting Article 5.3: participation in policy development, corporate social responsibility (CSR), benefits to the industry, unnecessary interactions, transparency, conflict of interest, and preventive measures.

We are pleased to present our latest report on tobacco industry interference in the WHO European Region. After months of extensive research and collaboration with our dedicated team in Brussels, as well as with partners and civil society organizations (CSOs) across Europe, this report sheds light on the ongoing influence of the tobacco industry on public health policy in the region.

The report explores the complex landscape of tobacco industry involvement in policymaking across 25 European countries, each with its own unique context and challenges. It provides critical insights into the extent of industry interference, highlights areas of progress, and identifies key obstacles to strengthening policy safeguards.

Produced every two years, this report serves as a vital tool for policymakers, advocates, and researchers working to mitigate the tobacco industry's influence on public health. We look forward to continuing this important work and tracking developments in the years ahead, as we aim for a healthier, tobacco-free Europe.

Luk Joossens, our Senior Advisor and Erin Roman, our  Director, contributed to a blog on tobacco control. 
They discuss whether nearly 200 billion unique identifiers on EU tobacco products are truly helping to investigate illicit tobacco trade. Moreover, they note that although the EU’s Tracking and Tracing (T&T) system has been operational for several years and holds vast amounts of data, no public evaluation has shown how effectively it supports investigations or law enforcement.
At the global level, they highlight progress under the WHO FCTC Protocol, but stress that many countries still need technical and financial support to establish independent T&T systems. They call for greater transparency, reporting, and law enforcement involvement to ensure these systems genuinely help combat illicit trade.

For more information, please click on the following link.