Policymakers, health experts, patient representatives as well as ELF youth representatives met in Brussels in October 2026 to discuss how upcoming EU laws can better protect children and young people from new nicotine products.
How can EU laws keep pace with a nicotine market that keeps bringing out new products, and protect the next generation from addiction?
This question was at the heart of Curbing the nicotine epidemic – the case for child protection in the new EU Directives, a policy event held at the Brussels Press Club on 20 October 2026. The event was organised by the European Respiratory Society (ERS), with the participation and support of the European Lung Foundation (ELF) and support from the European Chronic Disease Alliance (ECDA). It was recognised as an Associated Event of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
It brought together policymakers, officials from EU Member States, public health experts, clinicians, patient and youth representatives, and civil society organisations.
The event opened with a video address by Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, Minister of State at the Department of Health of Ireland. Des Cox, Chair of the ERS Tobacco Control Committee, then set the scene, introducing the policy context and the ERS position statements on the environmental impact of tobacco and nicotine products and the tobacco endgame (a public health approach that aims to reduce tobacco use to very low levels and create a tobacco-free generation).
The EU is preparing to revise two important laws: the Tobacco Products Directive, which sets rules on how tobacco and related products are made, presented and sold, and the Tobacco Advertising Directive, which limits how they can be advertised and promoted.
Since these rules were written, new products such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches have spread quickly. Many come in sweet or fruity flavours that appeal to young people, and some are not fully covered by current EU rules. The revision is a chance to close these gaps.
The first panel looked at the legal and policy side: how the revised directives can respond to the rapid emergence of new nicotine products and strengthen protections for children and young people.
Speakers shared national experience from Belgium, France, Poland and the Netherlands, showing what countries are already doing to protect young people. They discussed the recent public letter in which eight EU countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Hungary, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain) called on the European Commission for EU rules that cover all nicotine products and leave room for Member States to go further.
A key message from the panel was that future legislation must be built to respond to a nicotine market that is changing fast, rather than playing catch-up with each new product.
The second panel, convened with ECDA and co-chaired by ERS Tobacco Control Committee members Des Cox and Stamatoula Tsikrika, brought in the public health perspective. Maria Juusela, member of the ERS Tobacco Control Committee, spoke for the respiratory community alongside representatives of heart and cancer organisations. Together they stressed that nicotine harms the whole body, not only the lungs.
This makes nicotine addiction a concern for people living with many long-term conditions, and for the health systems that care for them.
Ed Powell, Chair of the ELF Youth Group, attended the event. The ELF Youth Group brings together young people aged 16–24 living with a lung condition.
Drawing on his experience as a young person living with bronchiectasis and as a patient and youth advocate, Ed said:
“The young people who will live with the consequences of these decisions deserve a voice in shaping them. As a patient and youth advocate living with a lung condition, I believe young people bring unique perspectives, new ideas and practical insights that can help policymakers understand how emerging nicotine products are reaching and appealing to our generation. The most important opportunity to prevent nicotine addiction is before a young person tries these products for the first time. By involving young people in decision-making, we can create policies that keep pace with a rapidly changing nicotine market and put children’s health first.”
During the discussion, Ed asked about the role of young people in shaping these laws, and how they can be better engaged in discussing legislation that matters so much for their generation. Youth are the group these new products most often reach, and the generation that will live with the consequences of the decisions made in the revision.
Des Cox closed the event with take-home messages that placed child protection at the centre of future EU tobacco and nicotine policy. The discussions reflected a shared commitment to evidence-based regulation that protects the health of Europe’s children and young people.
ELF supports stronger tobacco prevention policies and a tobacco-free generation through the #BeSmokeFree theme of Healthy Lungs for Life, the joint ELF–ERS campaign.
Learn more about Healthy Lungs for Life and how you can get involved
