Harm reduction: how the tobacco industry is trying to impose its arguments in Brussels

An investigation by the Dutch investigative media outlet Follow the Money[1], The report, published on September 4, 2026, documents how the tobacco industry funds research and lobbying efforts to promote, within European institutions, the idea that e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products should be favored by presenting them as less harmful than cigarettes. Of the 33 MEPs who publicly defended "harm reduction," 24 had been in contact with industry representatives before taking a stance. The investigation highlights the role of Swedish MEP Charlie Weimers, who spoke at the World Nicotine Congress in Brussels in the spring of 2026, criticizing manufacturers for being "too cautious, too discreet, too fearful," and who now claims that "the anti-nicotine lobby" is causing more harm than the tobacco industry itself.

These revelations come in a context already documented by Swedish public television SVT: relative to their number, Swedish MEPs are the ones who most frequently meet with the tobacco and nicotine lobby, in violation of Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which obliges Parties to protect their health policies from the interests of the tobacco industry by strictly limiting relations with its representatives. As the European Union examines the revision of the Tobacco Tax Directive and prepares to launch the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive, these elements shed light on how the "Swedish model," regularly touted by the industry, is being used to influence European regulations.

A research and lobbying strategy serving a narrative

The Follow the Money investigation, conducted with the Open Eyes collective and researchers from the Amsterdam University Medical Center, is based on the analysis of more than 50 lobbying and public policy documents produced between 2020 and 2026, as well as the annual reports and investor presentations of the major tobacco companies. It first establishes the economic stakes: in 2025, new nicotine products represented more than 40% of Philip Morris International's (PMI) revenue and 18.2% of British American Tobacco's (BAT), which aims for more than 50% by 2035. According to a PMI presentation to its investors, these products generate approximately 2.5 times more revenue per unit than traditional cigarettes. For these manufacturers, the issue is one of profit margins and financial gain, and in no way related to the products being less harmful to their consumers.

To support this growth, manufacturers are leveraging health arguments. To promote these arguments, they are investing heavily in scientific research. Since 2008, researchers affiliated with PMI have published 551 scientific articles on new tobacco and other nicotine products, and 276 for BAT. PMI even states in its annual report that its scientific activities aim to demonstrate "that our smoke-free products have a positive impact on public health." Independent researchers interviewed by Follow the Money highlight the methodological weaknesses of this work: according to Sophie Braznell of the University of Bath, PMI's studies on heated tobacco are often too short to measure health effects, and their research questions, duration, and analyses are designed to elicit favorable results, without all findings being systematically published. In addition to this internal research, there is indirect funding: according to Tobacco Tactics, PMI paid $407 million between 2017 and 2023 to the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, which became Global Action to End Smoking, and which supports research centers around the world.

The investigation finally highlights the blind spots in this argument. «Less harmful» does not mean harmless: literature reviews distinguish between products. Heated tobacco products have already been shown to be particularly toxic, being tobacco products. As for e-cigarette use, it is already associated with cardiovascular and respiratory problems. Above all, a large proportion of users do not substitute one product for the other but combine them, which can lead to a cumulative risk of different kinds. PMI acknowledges that 41% of consumers of its new products also smoke cigarettes, a proportion that reaches 67% in the United States, and the European Joint Action on Tobacco Control (JATC) estimates that approximately 60% of European vapers are also smokers. Furthermore, the harm reduction narrative ignores the initiation of smoking among young people who have never smoked. As for nicotine sachets, their effects on health remain largely unknown, but the extremely addictive nature of the products is established, aggravating the risks of a nicotine epidemic.

Swedish MEPs are particularly active in the nicotine lobby

Follow the Money identified 33 MEPs who have publicly supported harm reduction; 24 of them had met with representatives of the tobacco industry before making their statements. The same arguments appear in parliamentary questions, amendments, and European proposals. The case of Charlie Weimers, an MEP from the Sweden Democrats (SD, ECR group), is emblematic: the EU's Transparency Register and other sources report eight meetings with the industry since 2019. When questioned by journalists, he stated that his position was based on "results and evidence, not on the interests of any particular industry," and that these meetings were part of the normal legislative process.

The speech he delivered at the World Nicotine Congress, an industry-organized event in Brussels from which Follow the Money journalists were not admitted, was analyzed by the Swedish news site Tobaksfakta[2]. The MEP calls on manufacturers to more actively promote vaping, nicotine pouches, and other nicotine products. He asserts that "it is no longer tobacco manufacturers who are killing the most people" but "the anti-nicotine lobby." He labels opposition to these products "moralism" and criticizes European Commissioner for Health Olivér Várhelyi, accusing him of wrongly equating the new products with cigarettes. He also asks the industry to fund studies quantifying deaths attributable to European policy, in order to present the findings to the Swedish Prime Minister. Anette Jansson, of the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, finds it "frightening that such ill-informed parliamentarians represent Sweden in the EU" and points out that Sweden, after some real progress, is now facing "a genuine epidemic of nicotine addiction among young people," a consequence of the launch of new products designed to ensure the continued viability of companies in the sector.

These findings confirm an observation made as early as August 2025 by Swedish public broadcaster SVT: relative to their number, Swedish MEPs reported the most meetings with the tobacco lobby over the course of a year, with 14 meetings recorded by seven elected officials from four parties (Sweden Democrats, Moderates, Christian Democrats, and Social Democrats) with organizations such as Swedish Match, Skruf Snus, the Nordic Nicotine Pouches Alliance, and the World Vapers' Alliance, even though no tobacco-related legislation was under discussion at the time. This information was updated by SVT.[3] The number of meetings in May 2026 brings this total to at least 30 since 2024, including eight for Jessica Polfjärd (Moderates), the only Swedish MEP sitting on the European Parliament's Committee on Public Health. Several of these MEPs justify these contacts by the desire to "protect Swedish snus." For Gijs van Wijk of Smokefree Partnership, the tobacco industry "is not an ordinary industry: it profits from addiction and death," and the lack of sanctions for breaches of Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention, ratified by both Sweden and the European Union, constitutes the main weakness of the system.

The "Swedish model", a lever of influence on European directives

Sweden is regularly presented in Brussels as proof that harm reduction works, with the prevalence of daily cigarette smoking having fallen to around 5% of the population. However, Follow the Money points out that Swedish health authorities primarily attribute this decline to anti-smoking policies (tax increases, smoking bans, and compliance with the ban on sales to minors), while the Swedish government and MEPs such as Charlie Weimers blame it on snus and nicotine pouches. In this regard, Weimers echoes the arguments that BAT presented to the European Commission in response to the revision of the Tobacco Tax Directive. The tobacco company is calling for taxation that reflects the "lower risk profile" of these products. This narrative obscures the fact that Sweden has not eliminated nicotine: in 2025, 24% of Swedes consumed it daily, across all products, and the use of snus, a tobacco product, as well as sales of nicotine pouches, increased significantly among women. This discourse is also disseminated by a network of organizations whose links to tobacco industry funding are well-documented.[4].

At the Council, Sweden announced it would vote against the text, citing the level of taxation on nicotine pouches; since taxation requires unanimity, a single member state's vote is enough to block the measure, which finance ministers are scheduled to review on October 9, 2026. The Swedish political calendar directly impacts these negotiations. The parliamentary elections of September 13, 2026, take place the day before a technical Council meeting dedicated to the directive, and European diplomats quoted by Euractiv expect little progress until Stockholm, currently in coalition negotiations, has a firm position.[5]. Snus and nicotine pouches occupy a unique place in Swedish political debate: the defense of these products, presented as a matter of national interest, enjoys broad consensus between the outgoing coalition and the Social Democratic opposition, whose elected officials were also among those who met with industry representatives in Brussels. The possibility of a shift in Sweden's position thus appears unlikely, especially since the country had already contributed to delaying the Commission's proposal until 2022-2023.

The industry's influence extends even to the European Economic and Social Committee, where Matteo Borsani, rapporteur for the opinion on this directive and also director of the Confindustria European delegation responsible for representing Philip Morris's interests, invoked the "Swedish model" and the principle of "less risk, less tax." Unsurprisingly, the opinion ultimately adopted by this committee advocates for a low minimum tax on these products, in line with the sector's position.

This same argument is already being used in preparation for the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive, expected by the end of the year, which must address, among other things, flavorings, nicotine pouches, and other new products. When contacted by Follow the Money, PMI stated that it welcomes "the scientific review and debate on harm reduction," while acknowledging that its products "are not risk-free and contain nicotine, which is addictive"; BAT did not respond.

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] M. Hobma, I. van den Berg, L. Margottini, Big Tobacco stops Brussels from getting tough on vaping, despite proven harm, Follow the Money, published September 4, 2026, accessed September 11, 2026

[2] Tobaksfakta, Svenska EU-politiker i flest möten med tobakslobbyn, SVT Nyheter, published in August 2025, accessed on September 11, 2026

[3] Svenska EU-politiker hade minst 30 möten med snuslobbyister, Published on May 27, 2026, accessed on September 11, 2026

[4] The "Swedish model": behind the argument, a lobbying network close to the tobacco industry, Generation Without Tobacco, Published on August 8, 2026, accessed on September 11, 2026