How EU is fighting tobacco use and what Ukraine should do
In the field of public health, one of the key indicators for the European Union is the number of years a person can expect to continue living in good health. According to the latest Eurostat estimates, healthy life expectancy in the EU is 63.3 years for women and 62.8 years for men.
One of the factors that most significantly reduces this period remains the use of tobacco and nicotine. That is why the European Commission is reviewing the current regulatory framework governing these products this year.
For Ukraine, as an EU candidate, these updates to the directives will become part of its European integration obligations.
Read more about the upcoming changes to European legislation in the field of tobacco control and what they mean for Ukraine in the article by Yuliia Manuilova of the NGO Life: E-cigarettes, snus and more: How the EU is changing tobacco control legislation and what it means for Ukraine.
Every year, tobacco use causes the deaths of approximately 700,000 EU citizens. It is the most common preventable cause of death.
In this context, the EU’s strategic direction in tobacco control policy is shaped by two major initiatives that recognise tobacco and nicotine products as a systemic threat to public health and call for corresponding systemic responses.
In April 2026, the European Commission published the results of a comprehensive evaluation of the current regulatory framework for tobacco and nicotine control.
This concerns three directives: one on the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products; one on tobacco advertising and sponsorship; and one on the structure and rates of excise duties on tobacco products.
According to the European Commission, their implementation has produced tangible results: smoking prevalence has fallen from 28% to 24%; among young people aged 15–24, it has decreased from 29% to 22%; and tobacco-related mortality has declined by 9%.
In the European Commission’s assessment, taxation is recognised as one of the most effective tools for reducing tobacco consumption – approximately 40% of the reduction in smoking prevalence in the EU is attributed specifically to tax policy.
In July 2025, the European Commission published a proposal to revise the Tobacco Taxation Directive 2011/64/EU, proposing to set minimum excise duty rates at €215 per 1,000 cigarettes, compared with €90 under the current rules. For Ukraine, this provides a direct benchmark for aligning its own excise tax policy.
The European Commission confirms that EU legislation has generally achieved its objectives while also conducting extensive consultations aimed at introducing further measures at EU level to protect the population from tobacco and nicotine.
The growing use of electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products and nicotine snus (pouches) creates a "gateway effect", drawing children and young people into persistent addiction even before they become familiar with traditional tobacco products.
For Ukraine, the announced revision of European legislation is a direct roadmap within the process of negotiations for accession to the EU.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the National Programme for the Adaptation of Legislation to the EU acquis, in which tobacco control is identified as one of the priority areas of state policy in the field of public health.
An important step is to synchronize excise tax rates on tobacco and nicotine products with the updates to Directive 2011/64/EU. Under the current Tax Code, Ukraine will reach only the EU’s current minimum rate of €90 per 1,000 cigarettes by 2028.
Meanwhile, the EU is already considering its most extensive revision of tobacco tax legislation in ten years. The European Commission proposes raising the excise duty on cigarettes to €215. It also proposes introducing automatic inflation indexation and establishing new minimum excise duties on e-cigarette liquids, heated tobacco products and nicotine snus.
Accordingly, the Ukrainian government and parliament should urgently accelerate the schedule for increasing tax rates in order to avoid a catastrophic price gap with EU countries.
This gap could, in particular, create a risk of cigarette smuggling from Ukraine and contribute to an image of Ukraine as a source of contraband within the EU.