Update 20 July 2026. ETHRA has submitted to the consultation but unlike every other consultation we have contributed to we did not receive a confirmation email to say that our submission was successful. We encountered another problem when we visited the consultation website. The number of submissions constantly changes, jumping from 6771 to 5997 in less than a minute, submissions received should increase not decrease. Also, when comparing the total number of submissions to the category of submissions received, the numbers don't add up. We attempted to bring these issues to the attention of the Commission but the contact information on the website is not valid.
The EU survey on tobacco and nicotine regulation
On 22 May 2026, the European Commission published a survey [Tobacco products and tobacco advertising – revision of EU rules] to support the development of the next round of tobacco and nicotine product regulation, with Commission proposals expected later in 2026.
The survey is impossible to answer for anyone with an understanding of the differences in risk between different tobacco and nicotine products and a rational public health interest in the role that low-risk alternatives to smoking could play in reducing the burden of cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory disease in the European Union.
Around one hundred million European Union adult citizens are currently smokers, vapers, or other nicotine users, and around 700,000 die from smoking-related disease each year. The survey betrays a lack of seriousness about the size of this population, the toll of disease and death, and the options available to address it. In particular, it signals a contemptuous attitude towards the views of citizens who have an evidence-based, nuanced public health case for tobacco harm reduction. Finally, it shows the Commission has fixed views about the development of tobacco and nicotine legislation. The questionnaire’s design shows that it does not intend to conduct a genuine consultation, but is determined to frame questions that will create the illusion of support for a simplistic prohibitionist policy agenda.
In this briefing, we identify eight generic problems with the consultation questionnaire and provide an annex with more specific comments on the twenty-three questions.
Download and read the full document here