Five point plan for a smoke-free Europe as consultation deadline looms

International health experts today unveiled their five-point blueprint for a smoke-free Europe, amid growing concern that policymakers are set to reverse hard-won gains in the fight against deadly cigarettes.

The intervention comes as the European Commission reviews its tobacco and nicotine laws, opening the door to sweeping new restrictions on smoke-free alternatives such as vapes, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products.

The experts warn that any revision of EU legislation must remain focused on the product responsible for almost all tobacco-related disease and death: combustible cigarettes.

Their five-point plan calls on policymakers to:

• Make reducing cigarette smoking the primary goal of EU tobacco policy.
• Learn from Sweden’s success in combining tobacco control with access to safer nicotine alternatives.
• Regulate smoke-free products according to their relative risks rather than treating them like cigarettes.
• Strengthen youth protections through robust enforcement, age verification and marketing restrictions.
• Create a harmonised EU framework that supports harm reduction while preventing unintended consequences such as increased smoking and illicit trade.

The proposals form part of a submission by Smoke Free Sweden to the European Commission’s review of the Tobacco Products Directive and Tobacco Advertising Directive.

Led by Dr Delon Human, a former secretary-general of the World Medical Association, the submission argues that Europe will not achieve its ambition of a tobacco-free generation by treating all nicotine products as though they present the same risks.

Dr Human said: “The greatest threat to public health remains cigarette smoking. Yet much of the current debate is focused on restricting the very products that are helping many smokers move away from cigarettes.

“Europe risks creating policies that look tough on nicotine but are ineffective against smoking. That would be a serious mistake.”

The submission, which is co-signed by a collective of global physicians and experts with a focus on harm reduction science and policy, can be read in full here: https://smokefreesweden.org/2026/06/10/submission-to-the-european-commission-call-for-evidence-on-the-tobacco-products-directive-tpd/

Smoke Free Sweden urges citizens, health professionals, scientists and consumers across Europe to make their voices heard by submitting their opinions before the 15 June deadline at European Commission consultation on EU tobacco and nicotine rules.