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As of 31 July 2026, the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) has moved from evaluation into the stage where the Commission is preparing an actual legislative proposal. Importantly, the Commission is revising both the TPD (2014/40/EU) and the Tobacco Advertising Directive (2003/33/EC) at the same time.
Where we are now
The Commission published its long-awaited evaluation on 2 April 2026. That evaluation concluded the existing framework should be updated, particularly because of new nicotine products, changing consumption patterns and digital marketing.
The Commission then launched:
- Call for Evidence - 18 May to 15 June 2026 - ETHRA submission is here
This was specifically a call for evidence for the impact assessment supporting the revision. It has now closed. -
Open Public Consultation (questionnaire) - 22 May to 14 August 2026 - ETHRA submission is here
At the time of writing this is still open and is currently the most important formal opportunity for consumers, organisations, researchers, businesses and others to influence the proposal before the Commission writes the final legislative text. -
Targeted Stakeholder Consultation - This is usually the next step. However, we are not sure if this step will be included this time. In previous consultations participants, who are considered stakeholders by the Commission, are invited to take part.
What happens after 14 August
The process should broadly look like this:
Evaluation → Consultation → Impact Assessment → Commission proposal → Parliament + Council → Final Directive → National implementation
After the consultation closes, DG SANTE will analyse the submissions alongside the evidence gathered through the evaluation, the Call for Evidence, and develop the policy options for the revised TPD/TAD.
The Commission is already carrying out an impact assessment examining the consequences of the different regulatory options: health, economic, social, internal-market, competitiveness and other impacts. EU impact assessments are supposed to compare policy options, benefits, costs and unintended effects rather than merely justify a predetermined measure.
This stage is particularly important for
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nicotine pouches
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vaping products
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heated tobacco
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flavours
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product presentation and packaging
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nicotine/product standards
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cross-border and online sales
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advertising and promotion, particularly digital marketing
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how new nicotine products are brought within the scope of EU legislation.
The exact contents of the proposal have not yet been decided but we can assume that prohibitions will be the main focus, based on comments by the Health Commissioner and the format of the Public Consultation.
Regulatory Scrutiny Board
Before the Commission can proceed with an initiative accompanied by an impact assessment, the draft assessment normally goes to the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB).
The RSB can give:
positive → positive with reservations → negative
A positive or positive-with-reservations opinion is normally required before the proposal can be tabled for adoption by the Commission. A negative opinion requires the impact assessment to be revised and resubmitted.
This could be quite significant for TPD3 because the evaluation itself already went through Regulatory Scrutiny Board examination and analysis (and got a negative opinion), and the new impact assessment will now have to justify the regulatory choices that follow from it.
Commission proposal — expected before the end of 2026
The Commission currently says the revision of the legislative framework is planned before the end of 2026.
So, assuming the timetable holds, we would expect roughly:
August–autumn 2026: consultation analysis, impact assessment and drafting
Autumn/winter 2026: RSB scrutiny and internal Commission negotiations
By December 2026: College of Commissioners adopts the legislative proposal
But the end-2026 date is a Commission planning target, not a statutory deadline. An RSB problem, disagreement between Commission services or political intervention could push it into 2027.
And this distinction is important: the Commission intends to propose TPD3 by the end of 2026, not have TPD3 enacted by then.
Then the real legislative battle begins
Once the Commission publishes the proposal, responsibility moves principally to the European Parliament and Council.
The previous TPD was adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure, under which Parliament and Council are equal co-legislators. Unless the legal structure of the new proposal changes significantly, we would expect the revision to follow the same route, although the formal procedure and legal basis will only be certain when the Commission publishes the proposal. The current TPD itself went through the ordinary legislative procedure.
In Parliament, the proposal will be referred to a committee (SANT is the most likely), a rapporteur will be appointed, political groups will appoint shadow rapporteurs, amendments will be tabled and those amendments will be discussed until compromise amendments are agreed. This will result in a final position from the Committee. That position eventually goes to the full Parliament for a plenary vote.
It is the Committee stage where consumer efforts are vital. This is when we should be contacting our MEPs and raising concerns if the Commission proposals are overly restrictive.
Meanwhile, in the Council, representatives of the 27 member states will negotiate the proposal through Council working parties, COREPER and ultimately ministers, producing the Council's negotiating position.
Then trilogues
Once Parliament and Council have positions, they will normally negotiate through trilogues involving:
European Parliament ↔ Council ↔ Commission
The Commission proposal can change very substantially at this point.
A flavour ban, nicotine limit, pouch regulation, packaging requirement or advertising provision appearing in the Commission's December 2026 proposal therefore does not mean it will necessarily appear unchanged in the final Directive.
Parliament and Member States can and will amend it.
If agreement is reached, Parliament and Council formally approve the compromise text and it is published in the Official Journal of the EU. The Commission describes this process as Parliament and Council reviewing and amending the proposal until they agree on a common text.
When could TPD3 actually apply?
This is much harder to predict.
Commission proposal: late 2026
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Parliament/Council negotiations: 2027, potentially longer
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Final adoption: unknown
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National transposition: potentially another 18–24 months, depending on the final Directive
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Full application: potentially considerably later
The Commission has not yet set those latter dates, because there isn't a legislative proposal yet.
For ETHRA, the crucial period is now through 2027
From a consumer perspective, we would divide the opportunity for influence into three distinct windows.
Now – 14 August: influence what the Commission puts into the proposal by submitting to the consultation.
Autumn 2026: challenge the evidence base, impact assessment, proportionality and policy options while the Commission is finalising the proposal.
After the proposal appears: attention shifts heavily towards MEPs and Member State governments, because they can amend the Commission text.
That third stage may ultimately be more important than the consultation itself. The Commission does not get the final word.
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Every minute you can spend on this will be a minute well spent
The SCHEER Preliminary Opinion on electronic cigarettes, an important element in the TPD evaluation, has now been published. There is a public consultation for the Opinion, which ends on 26th October.
We are concerned by the report and fear it will be used to argue for harsher restrictions in the EU TPD, including e-liquid flavour bans.
Our first reading of the Preliminary Opinion leaves us with the impression that it is heavily biased and has huge flaws. Here are some of our general observations:
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The Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) regulates the manufacture, sale and marketing of most safer nicotine products (as well as combustible tobacco products) across the EU.
The TPD is the most comprehensive regulatory framework for safer nicotine products worldwide and is also the only regional framework. This gives the TPD global as well as regional significance because (1) regulators worldwide look to it as a legislative model; and (2) the EU is a powerful player in WHO FCTC and COP (Conference of the Parties),which has global affect. The tobacco control field does not operate in silos and so there is considerable overlap and inter connectivity between tobacco control activity and actors, at global, regional and national levels.
Read more: What do we know about the TPD application report?
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ETHRA was invited to participate in the current review of the TPD, by responding to an online stakeholder questionnaire and taking part in a follow up telephone interview. We have written notes summarising the views we put forward in the interview, together with some background evidence.