Europe has set itself an ambitious goal: a tobacco-free generation by 2040. Heated Community Hub supports that objective. Nobody should start smoking. Every smoker should be helped to quit. Young people must be protected from tobacco and nicotine addiction with clear rules, effective enforcement and responsible public communication.
But if Europe is serious about reducing smoking, it must also listen to the adult consumers who have already moved away from combustible cigarettes.
Heated Community Hub – Harm Reduction Community (HCH) is an Italian non-profit association founded in 2025 to promote transparent, science-based information on smoking, nicotine, consumer rights and tobacco harm reduction. Our mission is not to promote any product. It is to defend a principle: public health policy should be based on evidence, proportionality and the real experiences of citizens.
Earlier this year, the European Commission published its long-awaited evaluation of the EU tobacco control framework. The document evaluates both the Tobacco Products Directive and the Tobacco Advertising Directive, and will help shape the next phase of EU tobacco and nicotine regulation. It is a detailed report, built on scientific reviews, stakeholder input and market data. Yet one element still appears underdeveloped: the voice of adult consumers.
This is not a minor point. The Commission’s own evaluation records that smoking prevalence in the EU fell from 28% in 2012 to 24% in 2023, with an even sharper decline among younger Europeans. It also notes a significant decline in cigarette sales over the same period. These are encouraging figures. But they should lead policymakers to ask a deeper question: what has actually driven adult smokers away from cigarettes?
The answer cannot be reduced to a single factor. Taxation, health warnings, smoking bans, awareness campaigns and national policies have all played a role. But consumer behaviour has also changed. Across Europe, many adult smokers have switched, fully or partially, to non-combustible alternatives such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products or nicotine pouches. Their experience should not be treated as a statistical inconvenience. It is part of the public health reality Europe needs to understand.
Europe’s smoke-free target is achievable, but not by ignoring the adults who have already left cigarettes behind
The Commission’s consultation process shows how strongly this subject mobilises the public. In 2022, the call for evidence on EU tobacco legislation received more than 24,000 contributions, the overwhelming majority from individual citizens. The 2023 public consultation again drew a large response, largely from citizens. Consultations on this scale inevitably attract organised input — from health bodies, from industry, from advocacy groups of every persuasion. That is not a reason to dismiss the numbers. It is a reason to be transparent about who responds, and to take seriously the citizens who do.
Consumers are not background noise in tobacco policy. They are the people whose behaviour determines whether Europe’s smoke-free objective can be achieved.
That is why the next legislative phase must avoid two mistakes.
The first mistake would be to treat all nicotine and tobacco products as if they had the same risk profile. They do not. Combustion remains the central driver of the most serious harm linked to smoking. Non-combustible alternatives are not risk-free, and they should never be presented as harmless. Nicotine is addictive. These products must not be marketed to young people or non-smokers. But a credible regulatory framework must recognise differences in risk, use and public health impact.
The second mistake would be to confuse protection with silence. Adult smokers need accurate information. They should not be told that alternatives are safe. But they should also not be led to believe that every product carries the same level of harm as cigarettes. Misleading reassurance is dangerous. So is misleading equivalence.
Europe now has an opportunity to do better. The ongoing call for evidence on the revision of EU tobacco and advertising rules, open until 15 June 2026, should not become a formal exercise. It should be used to hear citizens, civil society, health experts, consumer organisations and independent researchers in a structured and transparent way.
Consumers are not background noise in tobacco policy. They are the people whose behaviour determines whether Europe’s smoke-free objective can be achieved
A balanced European framework should rest on five principles.
First, strong protection of young people. Access by minors to any tobacco or nicotine product must be prevented through age verification, online enforcement, sanctions against illegal sales and action against digital marketing practices that target or appeal to adolescents.
Second, truthful information for adult smokers. Communication should be clear, proportionate and evidence-based. Consumers must understand both the risks of nicotine products and the much greater harm associated with continued cigarette smoking.
Third, risk-proportionate regulation. Rules on packaging, taxation, product standards and communication should reflect scientific evidence, actual patterns of use and the goal of moving adult smokers away from combustion.
Fourth, attention to unintended consequences. Excessive restrictions can strengthen illicit trade, reduce transparency, push consumers toward unregulated channels or discourage adult smokers from switching away from cigarettes.
Fifth, real participation. Public health policy should not be designed only through institutional and expert channels. It must also include the people most affected by the rules: citizens, consumers and communities.
If Europe is serious about reducing smoking, it must also listen to the adult consumers who have already moved away from combustible cigarettes
World No Tobacco Day should therefore send a clear message to Brussels. Europe’s smoke-free target is achievable, but not by ignoring the adults who have already left cigarettes behind. Their stories are not an obstacle to public health. They are part of the evidence.
Heated Community Hub believes that the best choice remains to quit smoking and nicotine use altogether. But for adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke, Europe should not close the door to honest information, proportionate regulation and harm reduction.
If Brussels promised to listen to consumers, now is the time to prove it.
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