A group of leading European academics and medical researchers has publicly challenged what they describe as “false and misleading” statements by EU Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi about the risks of smoke-free nicotine products. 

In an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, 23 experts from more than a dozen countries warn that the Commissioner’s claims could undermine public health policy and mislead millions of smokers across Europe.

“We urge you to take action to prevent further loss of trust and confidence in the European Union,” the experts plead in the letter, dated 25 February 2026.

The authors go on to express deep concern about repeated statements from Várhelyi suggesting that non-combustible tobacco alternatives such as vaping, heated tobacco, and nicotine pouches are as harmful as cigarettes. 

According to the researchers, the claim isn’t supported by scientific evidence and risks distorting EU policy discussions.

“We write to express our concern about recent statements by Commissioner Várhelyi regarding the safety of nicotine products,” the scientists state. 

“These statements amount to spreading damaging misinformation.*

‘As harmful as cigarettes’

The letter highlights a December 2025 interview Várhelyi gave to the Euractiv news site during which he was asked whether he believed alternative tobacco products were as harmful as smoking. His response was unequivocal.

“Yes, I am. Absolutely. One hundred per cent,” the Commissioner is quoted as saying.

The researchers say such claims ignore a large body of evidence showing that smoke-free nicotine products expose users to far fewer harmful chemicals than combustible cigarettes. While they emphasise that these products are not risk-free, they argue that equating them with smoking is scientifically inaccurate.

“There is an important difference between safe and safer,” the letter explains. 

“Smoke-free products do not have to be ‘safe’ to be far ‘safer’ than cigarettes.”

The signatories include prominent scientists and public health experts from institutions such as Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London, KU Leuven, and the University of Geneva. Among them are well-known researchers in addiction science and tobacco harm reduction.

Public health concerns

The scientists warn that misleading communication about nicotine risks could have serious consequences. 

They reference the European Union’s own health data, which finds that smoking remains the EU’s leading preventable cause of death, responsible for roughly 700,000 deaths every year, 

If policymakers treat all nicotine products as equally harmful, the researchers argue, smokers may be discouraged from switching away from cigarettes.

“There is no scientific basis for claiming that smoke-free nicotine products have risks comparable to cigarettes,” the letter states. 

Policies based on that assumption, the researchers warn, “could discourage smokers from switching away from the most dangerous form of nicotine consumption.”

The experts also caution that misinformation at the highest political levels could affect upcoming EU legislation, including revisions to the Tobacco Products Directive and debates around nicotine taxation.

Call for evidence-based policymaking

The researchers’ criticism of Várhelyi echoes concerns expressed previously by harm reduction advocate Martin Cullip in an opinion article published by Snusforumet in January 2026.

He accused the Health Commissioner of crossing from “ignorance into recklessness”.

“When a Health Commissioner insists that safer alternatives are no safer at all, he is not merely wrong. He is dangerous,” Cullip wrote, arguing Várhelyi should be sacked.

While stopping short of calling for the Health Commissioner’s ouster, the scientists urge the European Commission to correct the record and ensure that future policymaking reflects the best available evidence.

“We are concerned that it will damage public health, compromise the European Union’s policymaking, and erode the European Union’s credibility,” the authors write. 

They add that more than 100 million tobacco and nicotine users in the EU “should expect better” from policymakers.

For advocates of tobacco harm reduction, the dispute highlights a growing tension in EU policy debates: whether regulations should recognise the large differences in risk between combustible cigarettes and smoke-free nicotine products.

The researchers’ message to Brussels is clear: public health decisions should be guided by evidence, not rhetoric.