{"id":8388,"date":"2025-04-15T08:33:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T06:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/?p=8388"},"modified":"2025-04-15T08:33:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T06:33:41","slug":"eu-tobacco-tax-reform-risks-undermining-harm-reduction-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/en\/eu-tobacco-tax-reform-risks-undermining-harm-reduction-report\/","title":{"rendered":"EU tobacco tax reform risks undermining harm reduction: report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>A fresh analysis of the European Commission\u2019s tobacco tax reform plans raises concerns that the revised directive could punish safer nicotine alternatives like snus and nicotine pouches.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The European Commission is preparing to update its Tobacco Excise Tax Directive (TED), the set of rules that governs how tobacco products are taxed across the EU.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But according to a new<a href=\"https:\/\/taxfoundation.org\/research\/all\/global\/eu-tobacco-excise-tax-directive\/\"> report from the Tax Foundation<\/a>, the proposed changes could threaten the progress some countries have made in reducing smoking through safer alternatives like snus and nicotine pouches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report concludes that harmonising excise taxes without considering the risk profiles of different products could backfire, undermining both public health and fiscal goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEU policymakers must understand that taxation can either encourage or discourage harm reduction,\u201d the authors write.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf the goal is to reduce smoking, taxing snus and cigarettes equally is counterproductive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Problems with the Tobacco Excise Tax Directive (TED)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The report highlights several critical flaws in the EU\u2019s draft framework for tobacco taxation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Flat-rate taxation<\/strong> could increase prices for smoke-free products with significantly lower health risks.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Disincentives for smokers to switch<\/strong>: Treating all nicotine products the same, regardless of risk, removes financial incentives for switching from cigarettes to less harmful alternatives like snus.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Uncertain fiscal benefits<\/strong>: Heavier taxation on safer products may not boost revenue and could fuel illicit trade or cross-border shopping.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, the authors argue for a risk-proportionate approach, where taxes reflect the actual health impact of each product category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Commission\u2019s proposal has also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vejpkollen.se\/2025\/03\/eu-vill-hoja-skatten-pa-nikotinpasar-med-500-procent\/\">drawn fire in Sweden<\/a> as it could result in a six-fold increase in the tax on nicotine pouches, which have been formally regulated in Sweden since August 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing now is a real threat to harm reduction,\u201d says Patrik Str\u00f6mer, Secretary-General of the Association of Swedish Snus Manufacturers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf this directive goes through, it could result in a total ban on nicotine pouches across the EU and deny 85 million daily smokers access to alternatives that carry a significantly lower health risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>EU countries want tobacco tax reform \u2013 but not at any cost<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The push to update the TED has strong backing from EU member states.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In January,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eureporter.co\/health\/tobacco-2\/2025\/01\/27\/majority-of-eu-member-states-call-for-updated-tobacco-taxation-to-address-public-health-and-revenue-concerns\/\"> a majority of countries called for reform<\/a> to address both public health and budgetary concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The European Commission has echoed that need, with plans to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.euractiv.com\/section\/health-consumers\/news\/commission-to-discuss-tobacco-taxation-at-highest-level\/\">bring the issue to the highest levels of EU leadership<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But critics say the current proposal risks repeating past mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve seen what happens when regulation fails to distinguish between products that kill and products that help people quit,\u201d says Str\u00f6mer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSnus is not harmless, but it&#8217;s at least 90 percent less harmful than cigarettes. Why treat them the same?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sweden: A model for what works<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sweden is one of the few EU countries where combustible smoking is no longer the norm \u2013 thanks largely to the widespread use of snus and, more recently, nicotine pouches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, Sweden has the lowest smoking rate in the EU \u2013 and significantly lower tobacco-related mortality than other member states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This outcome has been widely attributed to the <a href=\"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/en\/swedens-success-in-nicotine-pouch-regulations-lessons-for-the-eu\/\">availability of lower-risk nicotine alternatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe have two smoke-free generations in Sweden, according to the Public Health Agency\u2019s latest official data,\u201d says Str\u00f6mer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is exactly the kind of public health outcome the EU says it wants. So why penalise the products that are helping us achieve it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the EU directive moves forward without risk differentiation, consumers across Europe could face higher prices on the very products that help them quit smoking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe have an opportunity to create a tax policy that supports public health,\u201d says Str\u00f6mer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut we risk losing that if Brussels ignores what actually works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Will the EU follow the science?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As the European Commission moves closer to finalising the <a href=\"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/en\/the-tobacco-products-directive-a-guide-to-nicotine-legislation-in-the-eu\/\">Tobacco Products Directive (TPD)<\/a> as well as TED, the Tax Foundation\u2019s report adds to a growing body of evidence urging caution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the EU wants to meet its goal of a smoke-free Europe by 2040, experts say it must embrace harm reduction \u2013 not tax it into oblivion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is about outcomes,\u201d says Str\u00f6mer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFewer smokers, fewer deaths. Sweden has shown how to get there. It\u2019s time for Europe to take that lesson seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A fresh analysis of the European Commission\u2019s tobacco tax reform plans raises concerns that the revised directive could punish safer nicotine alternatives like snus and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6377,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218],"tags":[258,251,413,600,311],"class_list":["post-8388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regulations","tag-eu-2","tag-harm-reduction-2","tag-tax-foundation","tag-ted","tag-tpd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>EU tobacco tax reform risks undermining harm reduction: report - Snusforumet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A fresh report on EU tobacco tax reform plans raises concerns the new directive could punish safer nicotine alternatives.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/en\/eu-tobacco-tax-reform-risks-undermining-harm-reduction-report\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EU tobacco tax reform risks undermining harm reduction: report - 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