Efforts to reform EU tobacco legislation have ground to a halt at the European Commission, where the process is stuck in technical review, even as the European Parliament has approved the Cancer Plan.
The Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB), an independent watchdog within the European Commission, has issued a negative opinion on the impact assessment prepared by the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE).
The decision casts a shadow over Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi’s flagship legislative package, which aims to overhaul both the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) and the Tobacco Advertising Directive (TAD). As a result, the Commission will be unable to present its legislative proposals before the end of the year as previously scheduled.
The negative opinion obliges the Commission to revise and resubmit the document to the Board. Officials have said they are working to present the proposal as soon as possible, but have not set out a new timetable.
The setback comes amid mounting complications. The Regulatory Scrutiny Board has also reportedly criticised the evaluation of the current Tobacco Products Directive (TPD2). Two separate reviews are under way: one examining the existing rules and the other assessing the impact of the reforms championed by Commissioner Várhelyi.
EU Cancer Plan
On the parliamentary side, MEPs backed the original direction of the BECA report, rejecting every proposed amendment on 12 November. The report on the implementation of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan was approved by the European Parliament with 447 votes in favour, 66 against and 91 abstentions.
Sections on food, alcohol and tobacco remained unchanged, preserving calls for an urgent overhaul of EU tobacco laws. The report urges that rules be extended to e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches, alongside tighter controls on flavourings and clearer product information. It also calls for action on harmful alcohol use and standardised nutrition labels across the Union.
The European Parliament’s Rapporteur, MEP Vlad Voiculescu (Renew, Romania), commented: “With Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the EU made a promise to its citizens. Today, we hold that promise to account. We can spend billions treating cancers that could have been prevented, or we can find the moral courage to prevent them. Cancer does not wait.”
The tobacco sector broadly acknowledges the need to modernise existing European directives and harmonise the treatment of new tobacco and nicotine products. However, it has raised concerns about proposed increases in minimum excise duties, the potential impact on illicit trade, national fiscal sovereignty, and the taxation of products considered less harmful than conventional cigarettes.
