On 18 May 2026, the European Commission launched a call for evidence related to the upcoming revision of EU Tobacco Products Directive 2014/40/EU (TPD). Feedback is open until 15 June 2026 and is open to everybody. In the meantime, public consultation, available to stakeholders including citizens, businesses, representative organisations and EU countries’ public authorities, academics, researchers and non-governmental organisations, is open until 14 August 2026. Organisations and businesses taking part in public consultations are asked to register in the EU’s Transparency Register.
As background, on 2 April 2026, the Commission published its Staff Working Document on the evaluation of the TPD, identifying challenges linked to the rapid emergence and increasing use of novel tobacco and nicotine products.
The largest gaps found in the EU tobacco control framework stem from the lack of harmonised rules for novel nicotine products. The evaluation, therefore, signals an expansion of scope from “tobacco” to “nicotine,” potentially through the introduction of a technology-neutral definition capable of capturing novel tobacco and nicotine-related products, including pouches.
Likely Reforms Overview
- Expansion from a “tobacco” to a “nicotine” framework
- EU‑wide harmonisation of key measures (flavors, packaging, product categories)
- Stronger regulation of digital advertising and promotion
- Possible mandatory plain packaging, updated health warnings, and labelling rules
- Simplification of enforcement and reporting systems
- Greater alignment with Tax Directive reforms and public health objectives
In the current call for evidence, stakeholder input is sought on the following topics:
- Scope Expansion:
- Whether and how the framework should cover all nicotine products
- Inclusion of technology-neutral definitions to avoid regulatory lag
- Alignment with the revised Tobacco Tax Directive
- Flavor Regulation (support of or opposition to):
- EU‑wide bans on flavors in e‑cigarettes and other products
- Moving from “characterising flavor” tests to blanket flavor bans
- Digital Advertising and Promotion (support of or opposition to):
- Closing gaps in social media marketing, influencer promotion, and user-generated content
- Clarifying rules on brand/corporate advertisingCross-border enforcement
- Feasibility of monitoring and enforcement tools
- Packaging and Labelling (support of or opposition to):
- Introduction of mandatory plain packaging at EU level
- Updating health warnings (content, format, frequency of revision)
- Consistent treatment of heated tobacco products and smokeless and novel products
- Enforcement and Administrative Burden
- Improving EU‑CEG reporting system
- Updating traceability system efficiency
- Balancing compliance costs vs public health benefits
- Innovation and Harm Reduction
- Role of novel products in smoking cessation
- Need for risk-proportionate regulation
- Evidence on relative health risks and unintended consequences