00:00The EU
00:10Across the EU, one in four adults still smokes.
00:13Tobacco causes more than 700,000 deaths every year.
00:16It remains the leading cause of preventable cancer.
00:19And nicotine use among teenagers is rising.
00:22For years, the EU's anti-smoking strategy appears to be working.
00:26Higher taxes, advertising bans, and graphic warning labels pushed 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, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches.
00:45According to the World Health Organization, around 11.6% of European teenagers aged 13 to 15 now regularly use
00:53tobacco or nicotine products.
00:55That means more than 1 in 10 adolescents are already consuming nicotine before they can legally buy many of these
01:02products.
01:03Health experts argue that the rice has been driven by sweet and fruity flavours, social media promotion, easy online access,
01:10and colourful packaging.
01:11Sporters of vaping and some health experts argue that these products are less harmful than cigarettes.
01:17But less harmful doesn't mean harmless.
01:19Researchers have identified substances in vape aerosols, including formaldehyde, acetatehyde, and acrolaine.
01:26And nicotine itself remains highly addictive.
01:29Public health experts also warn that nicotine exposure during adolescence can affect brain development and increase the risk of long
01:36-term dependence.
01:37For Brussels, this creates a new challenge because the old anti-smoking rules were only built for tobacco products.
01:43In 2026, the European Commission reviewed European tobacco laws and found that, while traditional smoking rates are lower, the laws
01:52are 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 increase taxes on traditional cigarettes, introduce EU-wide minimum taxes on vapes, tax heated
02:08tobacco products, and tax nicotine pouches for the first time.
02:11The goal is simple, make nicotine products more expensive and less attractive, especially for young consumers.
02:17For the full story, read our in-depth explainer on euronews.com.
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