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A Special Newsletter from the ENSP & Impact Unfiltered
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Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Policy Unfiltered, developed through the strategic partnership between the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) and Impact Unfiltered. This recurring publication will focus exclusively on European Union tobacco control policies, providing essential intelligence and analysis for tobacco control advocates across Europe.
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Impact Unfiltered is a Brussels-based advocacy initiative founded by Alex Nedeltchev and Joachim Verheyen, two former Tobacco Control Fellows from The School for Moral Ambition. The School for Moral Ambition is a nonprofit organisation that helps professionals transition from traditional career paths toward meaningful, high-impact careers focused on solving the world's biggest problems.
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Our mission is clear: to ensure EU tobacco legislation is free from industry influence, grounded in scientific evidence, and ambitious enough to protect future generations from tobacco and nicotine addiction. We are dedicated to advocating for bold reforms of EU tobacco related legislation through coalition-building, evidence-based advocacy, and direct engagement with policymakers.
As an official partner of ENSP, Impact Unfiltered will amplify the joint advocacy for EU tobacco legislation, ensuring a more unified voice for public health in Brussels and beyond.
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ENSP is pleased to welcome Impact Unfiltered, who will be joining the efforts in Brussels with two additional pairs of hands to advocate for stronger EU tobacco and nicotine legislation. Their work is fully backed by the ENSP member network.
- Cornel Radu-Loghin, ENSP Secretary General |
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Deep Dive:
The Revision of the Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD) |
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As discussed in a previous edition of the ENSP Newsletter (The Network, July 24, 2025), the European Commission published its long-awaited proposal to revise the Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD) on July 16, 2025. In this edition, we will take a closer look at what the proposal means for health, taxation, and public policy in Europe.
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✅ What the proposal does well |
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Taxes keep up with inflation: for the first time, minimum excise rates will be automatically updated so they don't lose value over time;
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Higher minimum taxes: cigarettes, roll-your-own, cigars, and other smoking products will face stronger minimum levels, making them less affordable;
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New products included: heated tobacco, e-liquids (including nicotine-free), and nicotine pouches are brought under EU rules for the first time;
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Stronger enforcement: raw tobacco will be monitored more closely to prevent illicit production, and definitions will be clearer to reduce loopholes.
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⛔️ Where the proposal falls short |
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Slow pace: some measures, such as higher taxes for waterpipe tobacco and nicotine pouches, will only be phased in gradually, meaning health impacts are delayed;
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Gaps remain: some products, especially newer nicotine products, still don't have strong enough minimum taxes to stop very cheap versions from reaching the market;
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Updates not frequent enough: taxes will only be reviewed every three years, which may be too slow to respond to fast changes in affordability.
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The European Parliament will now debate the proposal and provide its feedback to the Council of the EU. The Council will subsequently debate the proposal, where Member States need to agree unanimously. This process may take time, making this the crucial moment to push for the strongest possible protections for public health.
ENSP, together with Impact Unfiltered, will continue to advocate for policies that protect the health of current and future generations and ensure that the Directive can fully support the EU's goal of a tobacco-free generation by 2040.
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For those interested in a detailed analysis of the TTD proposal, Impact Unfiltered is happy to share their comprehensive Ambition Analysis Management Review on request. Please contact us at
partners@impactunfiltered.eu
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Get Involved:
Shaping the Future of Tobacco Taxation |
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The European Commission has opened a public consultation, from 3 September 2025 to 30 October 2025, on its proposal to revise the Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD). This is a unique opportunity for civil society to provide input before the European Parliament and Council begin their debates. ENSP and Impact Unfiltered are preparing a joint submission to ensure strong public health voices are heard. |
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If your organisation would like to contribute to this joint feedback, Network members and partners are invited to reach out to
partners@impactunfiltered.eu
by mid-September. |
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Code Red for Tobacco Control:
How the Smoke- and Aerosol-Free Environments Debate Exposed Europe's New Political Reality |
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The November 2024 European Parliament resolution on Smoke- and Aerosol-Free Environments (SAFE) was supposed to be routine, a non-binding resolution supporting smoke-free policies that health advocates expected to pass easily. Instead, it became a spectacular political collapse that exposed the death of traditional health coalitions in European politics. The joint EPP-S&D-Renew-Greens resolution failed catastrophically, with co-sponsors voting against their own text by margins of 5:1 and 6:1. |
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What happened during this debate offers a masterclass in how modern parliamentary politics actually works and how traditional advocacy strategies are failing in the post-2024 electoral landscape. Opposition groups didn't just vote "no": they weaponized procedural tactics, economic arguments, and national sovereignty concerns to systematically fragment the pro-health coalition from within.
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Mediterranean S&D MEPs abandoned their positions under hospitality sector pressure, German EPP delegations cited federalism concerns, and even liberal Renew delegations fractured over harm reduction arguments.
At Impact Unfiltered, we interpret this as a revelation of the new rules of the game, not as a policy defeat. We believe that by analyzing exactly how opponents used procedural tactics to turn a health consensus into a political battlefield, we can understand what successful advocacy requires in contemporary European politics. With binding Tobacco Products Directive (TPD III) and Tobacco Taxation Directive revisions approaching, the lessons from SAFE's failure are essential for anyone seeking to advance public health policy in today's fragmented political environment.
So we must ask ourselves as the stakes couldn't be higher: if the European Parliament cannot achieve consensus on a non-binding smoke-free recommendation, how can we possibly achieve Europe's tobacco-free generation goal by 2040 without fundamentally new strategic approaches?
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For those seeking deeper analysis, ENSP and Impact Unfiltered have prepared a comprehensive strategic briefing. Contact us at partners@impactunfiltered.eu
for access to this detailed examination of the new tobacco control battlefield. |
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Together, we must evolve our strategies to match opposition sophistication because the era of relying solely on moral authority and goodwill is over. Success now demands strategic agility and innovation.
- Alex Nedeltchev, Co-founder of Impact Unfiltered |
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