Tag: Europe

Brussels prepares to overhaul tobacco and vape tracking rules to eliminate industry influence and reclaim €13 billion in lost taxes.

The European Commission is preparing to revise the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), a move intended to expand regulatory oversight from traditional tobacco to all nicotine products, including nicotine pouches and vape flavorings. However, the legislative initiative led by Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi has triggered severe institutional and scientific opposition across Brussels. Internal pushback surfaced after the European Commission’s Regulatory Scrutiny Board issued a negative evaluation of the draft policy. The independent oversight body identified four critical deficiencies in the proposal, highlighting a lack of empirical evidence to justify uniform restrictions across distinct nicotine product categories. Public Funding and the Question of Circular Lobbying Transparency concerns have intensified following revelations regarding the financial ties between EU regulators and policy advocacy groups. Michael Landl, director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, highlighted that prominent organizations campaigning for nicotine bans, such as the European Cancer Organisation and the Smoke Free Partnership, receive substantial funding from European Union institutions. A report published by the Hungarian think tank Free Market Foundation (Szabad Piac Alapítvány) identified approximately €12.8 million in annual public funding distributed to nine political advocacy groups. Of that sum, €12.41 million—or 96.8%—came directly from the European Commission. Analysts describe this arrangement as “circular lobbying,”