EU Commission Declares War on Harm Reduction

Press Release:

The Safe Hearts Plan adopts a broad approach to nicotine policy that fails to account for the profound risk differences between smoking and smoke-free alternatives.

In the prevention chapter of the plan, nicotine pouches are grouped together with cigarettes, heated tobacco, and e-cigarettes, and linked to future taxation measures under the revised Tobacco Taxation Directive. This approach disregards the primary cause of smoking-related cardiovascular disease: combustion.

Cigarettes expose users to carbon monoxide, fine particulates, and thousands of toxic combustion by-products that drive heart disease and stroke. Nicotine pouches do not burn, do not produce smoke, and do not expose users to these cardiovascular toxins.

Risk assessments consistently reflect this difference. On a relative harm scale, cigarettes score 100, while nicotine pouches score approximately 0.1, representing a 99.9% lower health risk compared to smoking.

Real-world outcomes reinforce science. Sweden, where smoke-free oral nicotine products are widely available and affordable, has the lowest smoking rate in the EU at 5.3%. 44% lower tobacco-related mortality than the EU average, the lowest lung cancer incidence in Europe and lower rates of cardiovascular disease compared to neighboring countries.

These results were achieved through risk-proportionate regulation, not bans or punitive taxation.

By failing to differentiate between products that burn and those that do not, the Commission risks undermining its own cardiovascular objectives. Equal taxation of unequal products removes incentives for smokers to switch, keeps cigarette consumption higher, and increases the likelihood of illicit trade.

Juan Rafael Taborcía, Global Spokesperson of Considerate Pouchers, said:

“If the goal is to reduce heart disease, the science is clear. Combustion causes cardiovascular harm. Nicotine pouches do not involve combustion. Treating them like cigarettes may be administratively simple, but it ignores evidence, real-world data, and basic public health logic.”

Considerate Pouchers calls on the European Commission and Member States to align cardiovascular policy with established harm reduction science by clearly distinguishing combustible tobacco from smoke-free nicotine products and ensuring taxation reflects relative risk.

Risk-based regulation saves lives. Blunt regulation does not.