The European Heart Network (EHN), together with 15 European health organisations, has raised concerns about tobacco industry influence in the revision of the EU Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD).
A recent opinion by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) echoes long-standing tobacco industry arguments and presents potential conflicts of interest, risking to weaken effective taxation measures proven to reduce smoking.
With tobacco use causing over 1.1 million deaths annually in the WHO European Region, the organisations call on EU institutions to ensure a strong, transparent and evidence-based directive, protected from industry interference.