Tobacco Reduction: Industry-Backed World Vapers' Alliance Highlights Select Member States

On July 2, 2025, the World Vapers' Alliance (WVA), a pro-nicotine association, awarded a symbolic distinction to three European countries—Sweden, Greece, and the Czech Republic—for their “outstanding performance” in reducing smoking. According to the organizers, these countries would constitute a European “Champions League” in the fight against tobacco, due to their policies favoring so-called “reduced-risk” alternatives such as nicotine pouches or vaping products.

However, while smoking rates have indeed declined in these countries, the reason given by this close-knit industry alliance raises questions about the criteria used, the data used, and the real intentions of the actors behind this initiative. This questioning seems all the more legitimate given that some of these states have recently opposed ambitious public health measures, notably by slowing down the ban on nicotine pouches brought by France and Spain at the European level.[1].

A strategic staging in the service of new nicotine products

The World Vapers' Alliance's recognition of Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Greece for their alleged success in reducing smoking is part of a broader strategy to promote so-called "reduced-risk" nicotine products. Organizers say the three countries are leading the way in European "progress" in tobacco control, particularly through their support for vaping and nicotine pouches. Sweden is cited as the top European country with a reported smoking rate of 5.6%, followed by the Czech Republic (18.5%) and Greece (23.6%).

But beyond these figures, this media focus constitutes a strategic communication operation aimed at imposing a narrative favorable to new nicotine products. It obscures factors explaining the situation in these countries and strongly qualifies the contribution of these new products. In Sweden, for example, while the smoking rate is low, overall nicotine use (pouches, snus, e-cigarettes) remains very high, particularly among young people. Moreover, the effective reduction in smoking in recent years is above all the result of a coherent and long-term public policy to combat tobacco: high taxation on cigarettes, smoke-free spaces, early awareness, compliance with the ban on sales to minors in place since 2007, social norms unfavorable to tobacco consumption, accessibility to cessation treatments and strong public support for public health messages.[2]In the Czech Republic, smoking prevalence remains above the European average, and Greece continues to be among the countries with the highest levels of tobacco and nicotine consumption.

The real objective of this campaign is to influence the ongoing European discussions surrounding the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). The World Vapers' Alliance is actively campaigning for this revision to include regulatory recognition of so-called "harm reduction" products, which would facilitate their marketing and weaken restrictive prevention measures. By presenting certain countries as examples to follow, the alliance seeks to influence public opinion and European institutions, creating political pressure in favor of relaxing the regulatory framework.

A communication operation orchestrated by the tobacco industry

Behind a militant and civic facade, the World Vapers' Alliance (WVA) actually constitutes an indirect lever of influence for the tobacco industry.[3]Officially presented as a collective of consumers defending access to vaping, the WVA is entirely funded and coordinated by the Consumer Choice Center (CCC), a libertarian organization based in Washington and Brussels, itself financially supported by tobacco multinationals such as British American Tobacco.

THE Consumer Choice Center is central to this strategy and promotes an anti-regulatory discourse under the guise of individual freedom. It thus actively campaigns against any attempt to regulate the nicotine products market. It hosts, finances, and provides logistical and human resources to the WVA, which shares its premises in Brussels. The latter, although self-proclaimed as the voice of consumers, has no transparency regarding its mode of governance, its sources of funding, or its potential conflicts of interest.

The WVA conducts particularly aggressive lobbying campaigns, both online and on the ground, with targeted media operations in European capitals. On the occasion of the 19th World Conference on Tobacco Control, held in Dublin in June 2025, the organization orchestrated a symbolic action by projecting slogans such as: “Vaping saves lives” ("Vaping saves lives") on the walls of the conference center. This type of action aims to challenge the scientific facts of researchers who are increasingly tending to warn about these products. Furthermore, such initiatives aim to maintain doubt and dissuade public decision-makers from intervening on this issue with a view to strengthening regulations.

So, beyond this one-off operation, the WVA is part of a deeper strategy: to put pressure on European institutions to influence the upcoming revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), by advocating for the integration of vaping products and nicotine pouches as recognized public health tools. By infiltrating the debate with a pro-industry narrative, it contributes to slowing down regulatory progress and blurring the lines of decision-makers, health professionals, and the general public.

This instrumentalization of a harm reduction discourse, promoted by entities close to the tobacco industry, highlights the challenges of protecting public policies from industry interference. The industry is increasingly using third parties to convey these messages and defend its interests. Governments must therefore apply transparency rules to identify such fakes.

©Generation Without Tobacco

AE

[1] Tobacco-free generation, European NGOs denounce interference by certain states in the regulation of nicotine pouches, published on July 4, 2024, consulted the same day

[2] Tobacco-free generation, Behind the Swedish model: the real challenges facing the nicotine pouch industry, published June 24, 2025, accessed July 4, 2025

[3] World Vapers' Alliance, Tobacco Tactics, last updated November 28, 2024 accessed July 4, 2025