The shadow of tobacco over young Europeans: “Regulation is struggling to keep pace”

Brussels – Nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes are trapping a new generation of consumers in the grip of addiction. This is the warning issued yesterday (27 May) by the Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) in the webinar “Where Addiction Begins: How the Tobacco Industry Targets Youth Today”, which aimed to examine how the industry “continues to adapt its strategies to attract and retain young consumers across Europe, and what should be done to stop it.”

In the context of World No Tobacco Day 2026, the SFP has condemned products “aggressively marketed to young people”. The data of the World Health Organisation (WHO) are telling: “Global retail sales of nicotine pouches reached 23.46 billion units in 2024, a 50.5 per cent year-on-year increase, with Europe among the fastest-growing markets.” A boom that highlights “the urgent need for more robust policy responses at both EU and national levels.”

The industry’s approach is “deliberate and systematic”: new products are “increasingly designed and marketed in ways that maximise their appeal to young people through flavours, stylish packaging, digital promotion and lifestyle-oriented branding, while continuing to exploit regulatory loopholes.” The Tobacco Control Scale 2025 report reveals that countries such as “Romania, Italy, and the Czech Republic still exempt heated tobacco products from certain restrictions.” In fact, “the tobacco and nicotine industry continues to adapt more quickly than public health regulation.”

Although existing laws have led to a “decline in smoking-related deaths,” today the regulatory framework “struggles to keep pace with the rapidly evolving nicotine market, the growing influence of digital marketing, cross-border promotion and promotional strategies targeting young people”.

“Today we are seeing a new generation of nicotine-based products deliberately designed and marketed to appeal to young people, whilst regulation is struggling to keep pace,” said Erin Roman, director of SFP. “The upcoming review of the Tobacco Products Directive and the Tobacco Advertising Directive presents a crucial opportunity to introduce stronger, future-proof rules.”

The SFP, welcoming the consultation of the European Commission, calls for the proposals to “proceed with urgency and ambition” and urges the direct involvement of the younger generation, recognising young people as “key voices in defining effective and future-proof tobacco control policies.“