EU nations revolt against Spain’s nicotine campdown, warning Brussels against overreach

STOCKHOLM – A growing revolt by EU member states against restrictive laws on safer nicotine alternatives is sending a clear warning to the European Commission as it considers changes to EU-wide tobacco control rules.

A fresh round of formal objections has been lodged against Spain’s latest plans to impose severe restrictions on nicotine pouches and other smoke-free products.

The objections follow an earlier wave of resistance to Spain’s January 2025 notification, which drew Detailed Opinions from Romania, Hungary, Czechia, Greece, Italy and Sweden – governments representing almost 115 million EU citizens.

Taken together, the two episodes represent mounting concern over disproportionate and unscientific regulation of safer nicotine alternatives.

In both cases, objecting governments warned that Spain’s approach risks undermining strategies aimed at reducing the harm caused by tobacco, distorting the EU internal market and entrenching cigarette smoking by removing lower-risk options from adult consumers.

Dr Delon Human, leader of Smoke Free Sweden and a former director-general of the World Medical Association, said the repeated objections point to growing frustration with legislation that ignores evidence and real-world success.

“There is a clear and growing revolt by member states against misguided policy, misinformation and bad science,” Dr Human said.

“When governments across Europe repeatedly object to the same restrictive approach, the message to Brussels should be unmistakable: legislative overreach on safer nicotine products is neither justified nor sustainable.”

He warned that exporting Spain’s contested model into EU-wide law through a revised Tobacco Products Directive would repeat past policy failures.

“Europe cannot regulate its way to lower smoking rates by protecting cigarettes from competition,” Dr Human said. “The Commission should heed these warnings, respect national success stories like Sweden’s, and ensure future legislation supports harm reduction.

“Sweden is on track to become Europe’s first smoke-free country by encouraging smokers to switch to safer nicotine alternatives such as nicotine pouches. Policies that remove these proven options risk reversing public-health progress.”

Under EU law, the filing of Detailed Opinions triggers mandatory standstill periods, requiring Spain to respond and underlining the seriousness of the concerns raised.