Launch of the European Declaration on Reducing Harm from Tobacco, Nicotine, Alcohol and Unhealthy Food

On 3–4 November 2025, the FILTERED Project held its Final Conference in Brussels, marking the launch of the European Declaration on Reducing Harm from Tobacco, Nicotine, Alcohol and Unhealthy Food. The declaration was endorsed by the European Heart Network (EHN) alongside the FILTERED project and associate partners:

• European Alcohol Policy Alliance (Eurocare)
• International Youth Health Organization (YHO)
• Smoke Free Partnership
• Advocacy Center “LIFE”
• Women’s Health and Family Planning Charitable Foundation
• EuroHealthNet
• EASL | The Home of Hepatology

The declaration calls on the European Union and its Member States to recognise that protecting public health is not a peacetime luxury but a core component of European security and resilience. It presents a clear roadmap for action built around three key pillars:

Reducing harms from alcohol, tobacco, nicotine, and unhealthy food and drinks

Through population-level policy measures, including:

• Fiscal measures such as taxing unhealthy products (e.g. tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages) and subsidising healthy foods;
• Marketing and availability regulations to discourage consumption of harmful products;
• Front-of-pack nutrition labelling and/or health warnings to empower consumers;
• Comprehensive bans on advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of products that harm health.

Protecting public health policy from industry interference

• Enforcing conflict-of-interest safeguards and ensuring transparency in lobbying;
• Excluding vested interests from policymaking in line with Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC);
• Investing in independent, publicly funded research to counter industry-driven narratives.

Defending civil society’s capacity to act

• Developing independent and sustainable funding models aligned with public interest values;
• Building transnational alliances to resist fragmentation;
• Engaging in strategic, rights-based advocacy to safeguard democratic space.

The declaration concludes with a shared call to action:

“Protecting people’s health and defending democratic space are inseparable goals. Reducing harms from tobacco, nicotine, alcohol, and unhealthy food and drinks is not only a public health imperative—it is a moral and democratic one.”

Together, we stand united in our commitment to build a healthier, fairer, and more resilient Europe.