The European Commission has quietly admitted that it is well behind on its plans for revising the EU Tobacco Products Directive, according to internal documents seen by Clearing the Air.
In what the Commission calls its “Implementation roadmap” for the “Beating Cancer Plan”, the Commision backs away from plans to hold a public consultation on any changes to the EU-wide tobacco law - which also covers vaping and other safer nicotine products - during 2024. Officials now merely want to finish a “staff working document”.
A consultation on the future of vaping rules was held in 2023, and nicotine consumers were very clear in their recommendations to the Commission: Don’t take away the products we use. Clearing the air has produced infographics showing how European consumers and academics who responded to the survey overwhelmingly supported safer nicotine products.
The Tobacco Products Directive, which came into force in 2016, regulates vaping across Europe, and is the reason you can only get small e-liquid bottles in the UK and Europe. While the UK left the EU in 2021, it still applies the Directive.
Despite calls from consumers and businesses from around Europe, the European Commission remains opposed to helping smokers make better choices.
As Politico has reported, the Commission looks set to try to ban nicotine pouches, and is determined to remove flavoured vaping product from the market too.
The Commission sought to ban vaping completely in 2012, when it proposed the Tobacco Products Directive. Amendments in Parliament prevented that from happening, and are the reason vaping is legal in Europe at all.
