00:00El E.U. ha estado de décadas tratando de hacer smoking desaparecer
00:03Pero mientras tradicionales cigarrillos se desplazen
00:05El problema de nicotina es más alto en los niños más rápido que los gobiernos esperan
00:10En el E.U., 1 en 4 adultos todavía se han ido,
00:13Tobacco causó más de 700,000 deaths cada año
00:16y es la causa de la causa principal de cáncer
00:19Y el uso de nicotina en los niños más alto en los niños es más alto.
00:22Por años, el E.U.'s anti-smoking estrategia ha sido funcionando
00:26Higher taxes, advertising bans, and graphic warning labels
00:30pushed the smoking rates from 28% to 24%.
00:34But then came a new generation of nicotine products.
00:37Today's nicotine market includes traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes and disposable vapes,
00:42heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches.
00:45According to the World Health Organization,
00:47around 11.6% of European teenagers aged 13 to 15
00:52now regularly use tobacco or nicotine products.
00:55That means more than 1 in 10 adolescents are already consuming nicotine
01:00before they can legally buy many of these products.
01:03Health experts argue that the rice has been driven by
01:06sweet and fruity flavors, social media promotion,
01:08easy online access and colorful packaging.
01:11Sporters of vaping and some health experts argue that
01:15these products are less harmful than cigarettes.
01:17But less harmful doesn't mean harmless.
01:19Researchers have identified substances in vape aerosols,
01:22including formaldehyde, acetatehyde, and acrolaine.
01:26And nicotine itself remains highly addictive.
01:29Public health experts also warn that nicotine exposure during adolescence
01:33can affect brain development and increase the risk of long-term dependence.
01:37For Brussels, this creates a new challenge because the old anti-smoking rules
01:41were only built for tobacco products.
01:43In 2026, the European Commission reviewed European tobacco laws and found that,
01:49while traditional smoking rates are lower, the laws are failing to target new nicotine products.
01:54The answer is a major rewrite of how tobacco and nicotine products are taxed and regulated.
02:00The revised tobacco taxation directive will
02:02increase taxes on traditional cigarettes,
02:05introduce EU-wide minimum taxes on vapes,
02:07tax heated tobacco products, and tax nicotine pouches for the first time.
02:11The goal is simple, make nicotine products more expensive and less attractive,
02:15especially for young consumers.
02:17For the full story, read our in-depth explainer on euronews.com.
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