{"id":466212,"date":"2026-09-28T19:05:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T17:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2026\/09\/28\/cibo-alcol-e-tabacco-la-stretta-delleurocamera-tra-etichette-e-divieti\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T19:40:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T17:40:01","slug":"cifood-alcohol-tobacco-ep-crackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/09\/28\/cifood-alcohol-tobacco-ep-crackdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Food, alcohol, and tobacco: the European Parliament\u2019s crackdown, from labelling to bans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels \u2013 The European Parliament has taken the first step towards the cancer action plan, but deep divisions remain over how best to prevent the disease. The Committee on Public Health (SANT<\/a>) today (28 September) approved the report on the implementation of the European Beating Cancer Plan (BECA)<\/a>, the European plan launched by the Commission in 2021 to strengthen cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. The text was adopted with 27 votes in favour, 8 against and 5 abstentions<\/strong> and will now be put to a vote in the European Parliament\u2019s plenary session, expected between October and November.<\/p>\n

The vote in the SANT Committee revealed a commitment to allocate at least \u20ac10.05 billion to health in the EU\u2019s next multiannual budget, of which \u20ac2.5 billion would be earmarked for measures to combat cancer.<\/strong> The committee\u2019s approval comes less than two weeks after\u00a0Parliament\u00a0approved\u00a0<\/a>its\u00a0strategy for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases by a large majority: 545 votes in favour, 47 against and 75 abstentions. These two dossiers share many of the same risk factors \u2013 tobacco, alcohol, diet, and lifestyle \u2013 but their formulations do not always overlap.<\/strong>\u00a0And it is precisely on this issue that, in recent weeks, a debate has flared up between the political groups<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Prevention at the heart of it<\/h4>\n

In the BECA text, prevention remains the starting point. For the rapporteur and Renew MEP, Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu<\/strong>, \u201cit should be at the heart of the plan<\/strong>\u201d because around 40 per cent of cancers could be prevented by addressing the main risk factors, from vaccination to tobacco, from alcohol to diet and obesity. \u201cEurope treats too much and prevents too little,<\/strong>\u201d explains the MEP in an interview with Eunews<\/em>, echoing the words of the European Commissioner for Health, Oliv\u00e9r V\u00e1rhelyi<\/strong>, which today launched the European week dedicated to the prevention and early diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases<\/a>. \u201cPrevention is the most effective anti-cancer policy we have,\u201d agrees Nicolas Gonz\u00e1lez Casares<\/strong>, shadow rapporteur for the dossier and Socialist MEP, in an interview with Eunews<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The rapporteur\u2019s priorities also include equitable access to care and compliance with the European targets already set. <\/strong>\u201cRegardless of which EU country a child is born in, everyone must have the same chance of survival,\u201d he argues. The report therefore calls for a reduction in inequalities in access to screening, diagnosis, and treatment, and for 90 per cent of patients to have access to National Comprehensive Cancer Centres by 2030.<\/p>\n

Food: prices, labelling, and ultra-processed foods<\/h4>\n

Prevention also depends on the environment in which people make their dietary choices. According to Casares, \u201cpeople don\u2019t eat unhealthily because they want to. They do so because of prices, availability, and marketing.<\/strong>\u201d Hence the call to use regulation, taxation, and clear labelling to change that environment.<\/p>\n

The report calls in particular for harmonised and mandatory nutritional labelling on the front of packaging, based on scientific evidence. Voiculescu also emphasises the issue of ultra-processed foods<\/strong>, for which, he says, \u201cwe need a proper European assessment,\u201d looking at the health effects on children and adults.<\/p>\n

According to the speaker, public health and economic sustainability \u201care not opposites, but rather conditions that are necessary for one another.<\/strong>\u201d Casares, on the other hand, emphasises the role of information: \u201cHaving information based on scientific evidence does not limit freedom of choice. It protects it.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

Alcohol: educating rather than banning<\/h4>\n

On the subject of alcohol, the text calls for clearly visible health information on drinks, a review of the European strategy and measures to reduce exposure to marketing, as well as a target of zero consumption for minors. In an interview with Eunews<\/em>, Green MEP Tilly Metz<\/strong>, who has been involved in the work on the dossier, starts from the scientific evidence: \u201cEvery glass of wine contains ethanol, and ethanol is harmful to health.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

In the MEP\u2019s view, alcohol remains an exception compared with other consumer products because it does not provide citizens with sufficiently clear information on the risks. \u201cHow is it possible that alcoholic drinks are still the only exception amongst the products we consume for which we lack the necessary information?\u201d she asks. Hence her call: \u201cWe simply must introduce this label<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Metz points out, however, that he does not support a blanket ban on alcohol. \u201cI am not in favour of a ban on alcohol. That is not the solution<\/strong>\u201d, she says. The aim, he explains, is to enable consumers to make informed choices based on scientific evidence.<\/p>\n

Casares, on the other hand, frames the issue in terms of the right to information: \u201cThere is no safe level of alcohol consumption,<\/strong>\u201d he argues, adding that members of the public have the right to know what the science says about the risks.<\/p>\n

Tobacco and nicotine: flavourings are the red line<\/h4>\n

It is, however, on the issue of nicotine that the debate becomes most heated, particularly regarding flavoured products and their ability to attract younger people. <\/strong>The report calls for the<\/p>\n

European tobacco legislation\u00a0<\/b><\/a>to be updated \u201curgently\u201d to include e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches, with restrictions on flavourings, plain packaging, mandatory ingredient labelling and a ban on the online sale of nicotine products to minors. MEPs are also calling for higher minimum excise duties on tobacco and nicotine.<\/p>\n

Voiculescu advocates for regulation to be extended to new products: \u201cThe EU should regulate them for what they are: nicotine products designed to create and maintain addiction.<\/strong>\u201d Risk differentiation, he adds, \u201cis a legitimate concept in policies designed to help people quit smoking; it is not a licence to create a new generation of nicotine-dependent people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metz is calling for greater harmonisation of European rules on taxation, marketing, age limits, pricing, and permitted flavours. On the subject of high-concentration nicotine pouches, he goes so far as to say: \u201cI think they are clearly very dangerous<\/strong>\u201d and that he would prefer \u201ca European ban on them.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

Casares is even more forthright on the issue of flavourings: \u201cFlavourings are designed to attract children. Only a Europe-wide ban can stop them.<\/strong>\u201d According to the MEP, the fragmented rules across Member States are not enough to counter marketing aimed at young people.<\/p>\n

Two approaches to prevention?<\/h4>\n

It is here that the comparison with the cardiovascular dossier becomes most apparent.<\/strong> For Voiculescu, however, the two reports are not contradictory but \u201ccomplementary<\/strong>\u201d: \u201cWe started from the same conviction: Europe treats too much and prevents too little.\u201d The difference lies in how risk is assessed: \u201cIn cardiovascular risk, dose and gradient are key. When it comes to carcinogens, science is less lenient: no nicotine product has been shown to be safe over a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metz, on the other hand, refers to a different degree of impact: \u201cThe impact of these risk factors on cancer is more direct,<\/strong>\u201d while emphasising that both reports identify the same main risk factors. According to Voiculescu, prevention, regulation, and information must go hand in hand.<\/strong> \u201cWe must regulate the product and the environment to reduce harmful exposure and limit its availability. We must make healthier alternatives more readily available, accessible, and appealing. And we must ensure that consumers are informed and educated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, the report also addresses the quality of life of patients and survivors, calling for more rehabilitation, psychosocial support, integration into the labour market, and full implementation of the “right to be forgotten”. For Voiculescu, however, the crucial point remains the continuity of the plan: \u201cA plan that ends when its funding runs out is not a plan, it\u2019s marketing.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The matter now passes to the European Parliament\u2019s plenary session, where the text could reignite the debate amongst the political groups, particularly on tobacco, nicotine, alcohol, and nutrition. The vote in the SANT committee showed that differences on prevention are not confined to the majority and the opposition, but run across the political groups themselves.<\/strong> Within the EPP, in particular, the debate on the report had already brought different positions to the fore. It will therefore be up to the plenary to decide whether the balance achieved in committee will hold up before the entire Parliament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cPrevention should be at the heart of the plan,\u201d the report\u2019s rapporteur, Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu, told Eunews; therefore, clearly visible health information on drinks; a mandatory nutrition label on the front of packaging; and a “European ban” on flavourings for flavoured products<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7896,"featured_media":222712,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[30961],"tags":[35964,35962,27047,26787,26640,26739,35965,35966,27549],"class_list":["post-466212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-salute-en","tag-alcohol","tag-aromi","tag-eu-en","tag-food","tag-health","tag-parliament-en","tag-sant","tag-tobacco","tag-vote-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7896"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466212"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":466216,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466212\/revisions\/466216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}