SMOKE FREE PARTNERSHIP POLICY MATERIALS

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.

On 16 July 2025, the European Commission released its proposal to revise the Tobacco Excise Directive (TED). This proposal marks the starting point of a political process, requiring agreement from all EU Member States. If adopted, the revised TED will enter into force on 1 January 2028. With this policy brief, Smoke Free Partnership highlights the main public health considerations linked to the proposal and sets out key recommendations to ensure that the reform supports strong, coherent and effective tobacco control across the European Union.

Policy Brief - Ukraine’s experience reveals how tobacco companies are adapting to tax reforms by manipulating pricing strategies, particularly concerning heated tobacco products (HTPs) and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). Findings of this new research provide critical insights for EU policymakers by highlighting the benefit of consistent excise policies across tobacco products and Member States.

In December 2024, the Council officially adopted its Recommendation on Smoke and Aerosol-Free Environments, marking a significant victory for public health across the EU. This initiative expands protections by covering heated tobacco products, e-cigarettes (both nicotine and nicotine-free), and tobacco surrogates, ensuring stronger safeguards for everyone.

Key highlights:

• Broader Scope: new and emerging tobacco products are included.
• Expanding Smoke & Aerosol-Free Zones: protection now extends to public playgrounds, amusement parks, healthcare & education premises, beaches, outdoor restaurant spaces, and transport hubs.
• Tobacco’s Toll: smoking remains a leading cause of preventable disease, affecting millions across the EU, this recommendation is a crucial step in tackling the issue.

We have created an infographic summarising these key provisions and statistics. Also available in multiple languages (CS, DE, EL, ES, HU, IT, MT, PL, PT). 

In 2022 the European Commission published an implementation roadmap and progress indicators for Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan to monitor developments on the ten flagship initiatives as well as its other actions.

The Smoke Free Partnership presents this position paper to provide evidence-based recommendations for updating the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) in alignment with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The paper emphasizes the need to strengthen the directive to address the rising use of alternative tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, and to counter the tobacco industry's evolving strategies.

SFP infographic, based on data from the Eurobarometer 2024, highlights the urgent need to update tobacco control directives. While previous revisions to EU Tobacco Products and Tax Directives have reduced smoking prevalence, progress has slowed in recent years. New and emerging tobacco products, particularly among youth, underscore the necessity for comprehensive regulatory updates

SFP Advocacy Toolkit on Taxation 2025.

With a new European Parliament and a new college of Commissioners, the process of renewal of the European Union Tobacco Tax Directive should resume without further delay. Research in the Economics for Health (formerly Tobacconomics) series evaluated the European Commission’s likely lines of reform, as per an unofficial draft that has circulated since late 2022, identifying areas where reasonable enhancements could boost its public health impact. This brief discusses these enhancements and illustrates their effects vis-à-vis the Directive currently in force and the Commission’s Draft. While the delay in the policy process is unfortunate, there is a window of opportunity to push for the enhancements presented herein, so that the next Directive becomes a pillar of Europe’s Beating Cancer plan.

SFP supports the European Commission's 2024 proposal for a Council Recommendation on Smoke- and Aerosol-Free Environments. This initiative builds on existing protections to address new products, such as heated tobacco and e-cigarettes, extending smoke-free policies to public and outdoor spaces, including areas frequented by children and families. Alongside the proposal, we offer our own analysis to further highlight the health and environmental benefits of restricting aerosol-emitting products in both indoor and outdoor settings. This proposal is a key step toward creating a healthier, smoke-free Europe and advancing the EU's goal of a Tobacco-Free Generation.

SFP's tax expert Professor Ángel López-Nicolás from the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena in Spain published this Working Paper on the effects of an unofficial draft of the European Commission's revised Tobacco Tax Directive (TTD) on novel products and combustibles. The revised TTD was expected to launch in December 2022 but has been postponed indefinitely.  

SFP's Tax Expert Professor Ángel López-Nicolás from the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena in Spain published this Policy Brief on the effects of the unofficial draft of the European Commission's revised Tobacco Tax Directive (TTD) on novel products and combustibles. The revised TTD was expected to launch in December 2022 but has been postponed indefinitely. 

This briefing paper sets out to propose elements of background, consensus, and policy recommendations in relation to the relative risks of e-cigarettes (relative vs. smoking and relative vs. non-use), the key EU policy measures, and more general recommendations to the EU Member States. 

Based on the data presented in this Policy Brief, SFP has produced the following infographics. 

This toolkit aims to support SFP Coalition Partners and other CSOs working on public health and tobacco control in developing and implementing advocacy campaigns to influence national tobacco tax policy. 

L'expert fiscal de la SFP, le Professeur Ángel López-Nicolás de l'Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena en Espagne, a publié cette Note Politique sur l'effet d'un projet non officiel de la Directive Révisée sur la Taxe sur le Tabac (Tobacco Tax Directive, TTD) de la Commission Européenne. La TTD révisée devait être lancée en décembre 2022, mais elle a été reportée indéfiniment. 

On 14 November 2023, the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC) released the 2023 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index. 

The SmokeFree Partnership, together with Corporate Europe Observatory and GGTC, worked on the European Index and the results are worrisome as no country is immune to influence from the tobacco industry. 

The Smoke Free Partnership welcomes the openness shown by some of the EU political groups to inputs from civil society and stakeholders in the process of defining their electoral manifestos for them to better reflect citizen’s views. 

SFP's Tax Expert Professor Ángel López-Nicolás from the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena in Spain published this Policy Brief on the effect of an unofficial draft of the European Commission's revised Tobacco Tax Directive (TTD). The revised TTD was expected to launch in December 2022 but has been postponed indefinitely. 

SFP's tax expert Professor Ángel López-Nicolás from the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena in Spain published this Working Paper on the effect of an unofficial draft of the European Commission's revised Tobacco Tax Directive (TTD). The revised TTD was expected to launch in December 2022 but has been postponed indefinitely. 

Les produits du tabac chauffés (PTC) sont des produits du tabac qui ont été lancés pour la première fois en 2014 et qui bénéficient d’une promotion massive de la part des entreprises de tabac. Les études sur l’incidence des PTC sur la santé sont rares. Selon l’Organisation mondiale de la santé, il n’existe pas de preuves suffisantes pour étayer l’allégation selon laquelle ces produits seraient moins nocifs que les cigarettes traditionnelles. 

Le présent document de prise de position vise à proposer des éléments de contexte, un consensus et des recommandations politiques concernant les risques relatifs (par rapport au tabagisme et par rapport à une non-utilisation) posés par les cigarettes électroniques, les principales mesures politiques adoptées par l’UE et des recommandations plus générales à l’intention des États membres de l’UE. 

Bruxelles, 15 décembre 2022: Le Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) salue l’initiative de la Commission visant à mettre à jour la recommandation de 2009 relative aux environnements sans tabac. SFP partage l’avis selon lequel une telle mise à jour est grandement nécessaire, compte tenu des dernières évolutions du marché, des dernières conclusions des études menées sur les effets de la fumée de tabac et des aérosols des produits émergents sur la santé et l’environnement, la vulnérabilité particulière des enfants à la fumée de tabac secondaire et tertiaire et de la forte divergence des législations antitabac entre les États Membres. 

Heated tobacco products (HTPs) are tobacco products first launched in 2014 and heavily promoted by tobacco companies. There is limited research, mainly financed by tobacco companies, on the impact of HTPs on health. The World Health Organization believes there is insufficient evidence to support the claim of less harm relative to conventional cigarettes.