Leaked document: EU would tighten while science argues for harm reduction

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 10. 21. 10:47

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Stricter regulations may be coming to the tobacco industry: according to a recently leaked document, the European Union would group traditional cigarettes and new types of nicotine products, including nicotine pads and alternatives using heating technology, under one umbrella, according to a document leaked ahead of the upcoming COP11 conference. Brussels rejects harm reduction, going against scientific evidence, including successful examples such as Sweden’s smoke-free model, which has reduced the country’s adult population to less than 5 percent of smokers.

Science-based approaches could clash with strict bans and regulations when global health leaders gather in Geneva from 17 to 22 November for the 11th session (COP11) of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). According to a document published by Clearing the Air, the European Union is preparing a much stricter crackdown on harm-reduction tobacco products in the run-up to the summit, meaning that new types of products – such as heated tobacco products and nicotine patches – would be treated in the same way as traditional cigarettes in terms of public health risks.

According to the leaked document, the EU would propose restrictions, bans and stricter environmental regulations for these alternatives, which could also lead to the withdrawal of certain product groups from the market. However, critics of the draft believe that this move would lead the EU to reject the principle of harm reduction and go against scientific evidence, including successful examples such as Sweden’s smoke-free model. This could hinder efforts to reduce smoking by making less risky alternatives inaccessible, while cigarettes remain the most readily available nicotine product, which could be worrisome in several ways.

A crusade against tobacco

The international press was outraged by the document, stating that the leaked EU plans envisage a comprehensive, unprecedented tightening of the tobacco and nicotine products market. “Brussels has considered reducing the number of points of sale, vetoing any type of state aid to tobacco producers and raising the age limit for access to tobacco products to limit consumption,” says the Spanish In the columns of El Economista, while the Italian Il Giornale says “the European Union is preparing a crusade against tobacco — it could destroy up to a hundred thousand jobs in Europe.” The Polish WP Finanse drew attention to the fact that the new WHO and EU regulations could fundamentally change the tobacco market — the complete elimination of certain product types is also on the agenda.