According to the Smoke Free Partnership SFP), the newly released Eurobarometer on Attitudes of Europeans Towards Tobacco and Related Products shows that nearly one in four Europeans (24%) currently smoke, reflecting only a 1 percentage point decrease from 2020. Meanwhile, e-cigarette use is now up to 6% among the 15-24 age group. „This proves that the complete lack of tobacco control measures at the EU level resulted in smoking prevalence dropping only 1 percentage point over 2020-2023”, SFP claims.

Additionally, the Eurobarometer indicates that a substantial majority also supports banning the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in areas where traditional smoking is already prohibited. Additionally, Belgian Minister of Health and Social Affairs Frank Vandenbroucke declared that this data “underlines the need to act. It shows that people support additional tobacco control measures rather than linking them to the image of a « nanny-state » as some lobbies like to suggest. I sincerely hope that the next commission will quickly pick up the delayed work on the revision of the tobacco directives.”

Finally, SFP considers that EU current tobacco harm reduction narrative is “the industry’s latest Trojan horse, as its primary goal is to weaken and undermine tobacco control regulations.” Furthermore, the partnership underlines the need to hold the industry accountable for the tobacco epidemic, while also prohibiting it to funds scientists, public health experts, politicians and policy makers that claim that the industry is part of the solution.