Várhelyi rejects new tobacco products: “No Health Benefit, risk of addiction”
EU Health Commissioner Oliver Várhelyi has firmly rejected claims that new tobacco and nicotine products, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, are safer alternatives to traditional cigarettes.
Responding to a parliamentary question from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), Várhelyi stressed that these products do not reduce health risks and can act as a gateway to nicotine addiction and smoking.
“There is no safe level of tobacco or nicotine consumption, not even for smokeless tobacco and nicotine products,” he said, emphasizing that claims of lower harm or greater sustainability are unfounded.
The Commissioner cited World Health Organization (WHO) data highlighting that over 14 million adolescents aged 13–15 globally use e-cigarettes, and young people are nine times more likely than adults to use them. The WHO warns that non-smokers who try electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) risk developing nicotine dependence, which may lead to conventional tobacco use.
Várhelyi’s response underscores the EU executive’s commitment to stricter regulation of alternative nicotine products, despite some European Parliament members arguing that these innovations can reduce smoking rates and related health damage.
