Tobacco: 'Some EU member states are using their political influence to defend the interests of the industry'
Across Europe, these manufacturers are marketing these products aggressively to young (and even very young) people, using rhetoric similar to public health campaigns. They present these new products as tools to help people quit smoking, even though this market continues to be their main source of revenue.
Their objective: In addition to revamping their image and customer base, they want to get ahead of European legislators to normalize the marketing of these highly addictive new products before they can be regulated or simply banned. Several of these products are currently on sale despite there being no legal framework for them.
Blameworthy delay
This is the case with nicotine pouches, which are one of the tobacco industry's new flagship products. In 2024, Philip Morris International (PMI) sold almost 600 million boxes of ZYN in the United States and is looking to expand into the European market, as is British American Tobacco with its Velo brand.
The European Union is dangerously behind on this issue. Directives regulating the taxation and sale of tobacco products and related products (which could limit the marketing of these new products) are several years behind schedule due to the influence of the tobacco industry, which spends nearly €20 million each year lobbying in Brussels to protect its profits.
This is why several member states have decided to regulate these products themselves. Following Belgium's ban, France has indicated that it wants to impose a broader ban on all oral nicotine products (excluding e-cigarettes and nicotine substitutes), while Spain wants to limit nicotine content to the bare minimum.
These states are not only subject to internal media pressure led by the industry, which challenges these regulations through communication campaigns in the press and on social media, dissemination of false studies, etc.). But other EU member states are also using their political influence to support the industry in marketing these new products.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
4 hours ago
- LeMonde
How to combat 'sloth syndrome' and get moving
"It's like therapy, without a therapist." "It helps me come up with better ideas and solutions to a problem." "It connects me to myself and to others." These are just a few of the responses from European citizens to a simple question posed by the World Health Organization (WHO): Why do you love walking or cycling? Launched one month ago by WHO Europe to mark World Bicycle Day on June 3, the campaign "Let's Get Moving! 100 Reasons to Walk and Cycle More" went somewhat unnoticed. Yet, this list could have been a great way to find motivation to walk or cycle more. First, not only does one's physical and mental health experience benefits from this type of exercise, but so does the environment, the economy and even community cohesion. The health arguments alone should be compelling. "In the WHO European Region, physical inactivity is linked to approximately one million deaths each year, with nearly 25% of adults failing to meet WHO's recommendation of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity throughout the week," the United Nations agency emphasized in the campaign's presentation.
Euronews
6 hours ago
- Euronews
Hot European summers raise health risks from mosquito-borne diseases
Europe is in for a long, hot summer – and with it, a swarm of mosquitoes. The insects are more than just pesky. Some mosquito species carry illnesses such as Zika, West Nile virus, dengue, and chikungunya – and outbreaks of these diseases, typically found in tropical and subtropical climates, are becoming more common in Europe as a result of increased travel and warmer weather driven by climate change. Last year, there were 1,436 cases of West Nile virus and 304 dengue infections acquired in Europe, up from 201 the previous two years combined, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Italy made up 238 of those dengue cases, the largest outbreak the bloc has ever seen. This may be another record-breaking year. France already has seven active outbreaks of chikungunya this summer, which the ECDC said indicates the mosquito season started earlier than usual. 'It's an exponential curve,' Jan Semenza, an environmental epidemiologist at Umeå University in Sweden, told Euronews Health. Dengue can spread easily because most infected people have no or mild symptoms, but it can cause severe illness and death. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, body aches, nausea, and rash. Chikungunya is rarely fatal, but it can cause similar symptoms to dengue as well as debilitating joint pain that can last months or even years. Semenza and other scientists believe these diseases could soon become endemic in Europe. One recent study found that if a new mosquito species arrived in a European country in the 1990s, it would take about 25 years for a major outbreak to occur. Now, it's under five years. 'That time span has collapsed dramatically,' Semenza said. Outbreaks in Europe are still small compared to the rest of the globe. So far in 2025, there have been more than three million dengue cases and 220,000 chikungunya cases worldwide. More than 1,400 people have died from dengue and there have been 80 chikungunya deaths worldwide. But other vector-borne diseases could soon emerge as public health threats, as well. The mosquito species that spreads yellow fever, once eliminated in Europe, has reappeared in Cyprus. 'We are very concerned that Europe could potentially be invaded by this aggressive mosquito,' Semenza said. What can be done to combat mosquito-borne diseases? Semenza said that while it's impossible to eliminate mosquitoes altogether, governments can do more to prevent them from spreading disease. They could, for example, boost surveillance in hotter southern European countries during the summer, particularly around airports and other transit hubs where people might unknowingly bring viruses in. 'We want to make sure that if a passenger arrives from a dengue-active area, that if that person has the virus in [their] blood, we would like to isolate that individual as quickly as possible to make sure that he or she doesn't get bitten by a mosquito, because then you have these larger outbreaks,' Semenza said. Spain is taking some steps to minimise the risks. People can submit photos of mosquitoes to an app that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify the species and issue an alert if it hasn't been detected in that area before. Regional health authorities can then take steps to prevent infections. This 'citizen science' programme has helped officials identify invasive Asian tiger mosquitoes, which can carry dengue and chikungunya viruses, in 156 municipalities since 2023, according to the Spanish health ministry. Meanwhile, the ECDC said people can take steps to minimise their own risks from mosquitoes , including using insect repellent and wearing long sleeves and trousers at dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active. Travellers returning from countries where these viruses are endemic – most parts of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean – should maintain these precautions for at least three weeks after their return to Europe to prevent mosquitoes from biting them and spreading any viruses locally, the agency said. Other climate scientists say European countries grappling with the reemergence of mosquito-borne diseases should take lessons from regions where they have long been endemic, such as sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Americas. 'In Europe, it's definitely a seasonal disease,' Semenza said. 'But we see the season expanding, and we'll see more and more cases'.
Euronews
21 hours ago
- Euronews
42% increase in heat-related deaths at work in the EU since 2000
The heatwave sweeping across Europe has claimed its first victims at work. Spain and France have each reported a heatwave-related death. Similar tragedies have occurred in previous summers in both countries, as well as in Italy and Greece. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is sounding the alarm. According to figures from the International Labour Organisation, the EU has seen a 42% increase in heat-related deaths in the workplace since the turn of the century. The ETUC points out that, according to studies, when temperatures exceed 30°C, the risk of work-related accidents increases by 5 to 7%. When the temperature rises above 38°C, the risk is 10-15% higher. The European confederation is therefore calling for European measures to protect workers. "We need to assess the risks by taking into account not only the temperature, but also other conditions affecting humidity and, specifically, the amount of shade available, ventilation and exposure to sunlight," insists Giulio Romani, ETUC Confederal Secretary. "Secondly, we believe that there should be the right to medical examinations, controls and periodic inspections. And finally, a right to be absent from work without disciplinary measures or sanctions, in cases where the worker perceives that the extreme heat conditions are putting him or her at risk", he adds. In the EU, 23% of workers are exposed to high temperatures at least a quarter of the time, 36% in agriculture and industry and 38% in construction. Dizziness, headaches and muscle cramps are the first symptoms of heat stress. These signals can then lead to vomiting, loss of consciousness and even death if no action is taken. High temperatures also exacerbate a range of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Different national rules The ETUC is calling for maximum working temperatures to be set for different sectors of activity. Some member states have already set thresholds, says the European confederation.
