The EU Case for Innovative Nicotine Products [Briefing Paper]

The European Union faces a sobering reality: at current rates, it will miss its 2040 smoke-free target by more than 60 years. With 24% of EU adults still smoking—barely a 1% decline since 2020—the bloc confronts a public health crisis measured in millions of preventable deaths.

These stark findings emerge from “The EU Case for Innovative Nicotine Products: How Sweden, Czechia, and Greece achieved EU’s fastest smoking declines,” a comprehensive new briefing paper published by We Are Innovation and Path to Smoke-Free.

Yet, within this challenging landscape, a remarkable story emerges from the numbers of the latest Eurobarometer survey. Three EU countries have cracked the code on rapid smoking reduction, achieving what seemed impossible just years ago. Their success offers a roadmap for the rest of Europe—and the world.

Sweden: Europe’s Smoke-Free Pioneer

Sweden stands on the brink of becoming Europe’s first smoke-free nation, with smoking rates plummeting to just 5.4%. The country reports 36% fewer lung cancer deaths than the EU average, translating to thousands of lives saved and immeasurable reductions in human suffering.

What makes Sweden’s approach revolutionary? The Swedish Experience combines traditional anti-smoking measures with policies that make innovative nicotine products accessible, acceptable, and affordable. By differentiating regulation and taxation based on product risk, Sweden created economic ladders away from cigarettes rather than treating all nicotine products equally.

The data tells a compelling story: as oral nicotine product use rose from 11% to 16%, daily smoking rates dropped from 11% to 5.4%. Longitudinal studies confirm that the vast majority of oral nicotine users are former smokers who successfully transitioned away from cigarettes.

Czechia: Europe’s Fastest Transformation

Czechia achieved something unprecedented: Europe’s fastest decline in smoking, dropping seven percentage points in just three years (from 30% to 23%). This dramatic transformation resulted from coordinated “harm reduction” policies across all government ministries.

The 2019 National Strategy to Prevent and Reduce the Harm Associated with Addictive Behaviour represents a masterclass in systematic implementation. Rather than vague pronouncements, the strategy assigned concrete responsibilities: the Ministry of Finance was tasked with “regularly increasing excise duty on tobacco products while respecting differentiation according to the degree of harmfulness.”

The results speak for themselves—after years of stagnation, Czechia’s smoking rate began its sharp descent precisely when comprehensive policies took effect.

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Greece: Proving Cultural Change is Possible

Perhaps most remarkably, Greece—long considered culturally bound to high smoking rates—achieved a 14% reduction in smokers between 2020 and 2023. This represents approximately 600,000 fewer smokers in a country that had seen smoking rates stagnate at 42% for over a decade.

Greece’s transformation is particularly instructive because it required reversing course from failed prohibitionist policies. After years of treating all nicotine products equally while watching smoking rates remain stubbornly high, Greek authorities embraced a comprehensive approach that includes traditional measures alongside policies making innovative nicotine products accessible to smokers.

The policy shift was dramatic: from banning nicotine pouches outright to creating regulatory frameworks, from prohibiting any health risk communications to approving science-based relative risk claims, from uniform taxation to differentiated rates based on product harm.

The Global Pattern

These success stories are not isolated European phenomena. The United Kingdom cut smoking from 16.4% to 10.4% after including vaping in its comprehensive strategy. Japan achieved a staggering 52% decline in cigarette sales through consumer adoption of heated tobacco products. New Zealand is making confident progress toward smoke-free status by 2025.

The pattern is unmistakable: nations that provide viable alternatives to cigarettes alongside traditional measures see smoking rates plummet. Countries clinging exclusively to traditional interventions watch their smoke-free goals slip further into the future.

A Choice for Europe

Europe now faces a defining moment. The mathematics are stark: continuing with traditional-only approaches means the EU’s 2040 smoke-free target won’t be met until beyond 2100. However, the pioneering examples of Sweden, Czechia, and Greece demonstrate that another path is possible.

These countries demonstrate that treating nicotine products based on their relative risk, creating economic incentives to switch away from cigarettes, and allowing manufacturers to communicate reliable research can accelerate progress toward smoke-free societies.

The evidence is clear, the methods are proven, and the stakes could not be higher.

Ready to explore the data behind these transformations? Download our comprehensive briefing paper “The EU Case for Innovative Nicotine Products” to discover how Sweden, Czechia, and Greece achieved Europe’s fastest smoking declines—and what other countries can learn from their success.

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