European Cancer Organisation welcomes revisions to the Tobacco Taxation Directive
The European Cancer Organisation (ECO) applauds the European Commission’s proposal this month to revise the Tobacco Taxation Directive, an important step to further tobacco control policies across the European Union (EU).
Tobacco taxation is recognised by the scientific and public health community as one of the most effective measures to reduce tobacco consumption and prevent related diseases. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the EU, claiming more than 700,000 lives annually and accounting for 27% of all cancer cases.
The European Commission’s proposal to revise the Tobacco Taxation Directive—including the extension of excise duties to novel tobacco and nicotine products—has been long awaited and is a specific objective of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. This initiative should go a long way toward the ambitious goal of a ‘Tobacco-Free Generation’ by 2040.
‘Extending the scope of the directive to new products such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and nicotine pouches is a critically important element,’ said Professor Csaba Dégi, ECO’s president. ‘The growing use of these novel products, especially among young people, is posing a significant health threat and demands urgent action.’
The World Health Organization has long pointed to convincing evidence showing that higher tobacco prices reduce smoking rates, especially among young people and socio-economically vulnerable groups. So the proposed reform is an essential and timely instrument for preventing cancer and other chronic diseases across Europe.
Increasing tobacco taxation has also been a pillar of the European Cancer Organisation’s own policy agenda, as outlined in our 2024 Time to Accelerate manifesto. In this document, ECO called on the EU and its Member States to ‘increase taxes on all tobacco and nicotine products to make them less affordable, especially for younger generations, as part of a stronger cancer prevention approach’.
The Directive must now be agreed upon by EU Member States. ECO is eager to support European institutions, national governments, and relevant stakeholders to ensure that the revised Directive is quickly adopted without delay to maximise its public health impact.
