Council Adopts New Recommendations to Restrict the Use of These New Tobacco Products in Public Spaces and Reduce Exposure to Second-hand Smoke and Aerosols

The European Cancer Organisation (ECO) welcomes the extension of the recommendations on smoke-free and aerosol-free environments. These encourage EU countries to expand the scope of existing protection against second-hand smoke exposure to include key outdoor areas such as playgrounds and restaurant terraces.  

The new measures will also apply to emerging tobacco and related products, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTP). HTP have an electrical heating component, like e-cigarettes, that heats processed tobacco releasing volatile components that often are not detectable in e-cigarettes. Like combustible products, HTPs emit substantial levels of carcinogenic TSNA.  

Scientific research confirms that the harmful components of cigarette smoke derive from the products of incomplete combustion (pyrolysis) and the degradation of tobacco cigarettes through heat (thermogenic degradation). Typical markers of pyrolysis and thermogenic degradation of tobacco cigarettes are acetaldehyde, a carcinogenic volatile organic compound, benzo[a]pyrene, a carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and carbon monoxide. 

Furthermore, the 2023 WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic also stressed that all tobacco-containing products contain tobacco-specific nitrosamines, and they have been classified as “carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).  

ECO followed the approval process of the new recommendations from its very beginning, expressing its opinion to the European Commission by consulting the Prevention, Early Detection and Screening network. Over the past months, ECO, together with wider public health community, had also reiterated its support for the publication of the Commission's proposal as well as expressed concern over the significant stalling of the proposed initiatives so far. 

Next steps 

The Commission is expected to report on the progress made in implementing this recommendation within five years of today’s adoption. In its recommendation, the Council also highlights the importance of coupling the measures described above with intense work on the evaluation and revision of the EU’s tobacco legislation and ECO will continue supporting EU institutions and Member States in providing evidence-based policies to ensure the achievement of Tobacco-Free Generation and the success of the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.