How can tobacco-control policies effectively protect young people while also helping to reduce risks for adults who continue to smoke? And how can scientific evidence be translated into decisions that deliver meaningful public-health outcomes?
These questions were at the heart of the 9th Summit on Tobacco Harm Reduction: Novel Products, Research & Policy, organised virtually by SCOHRE, with 150 participants from 43 countries worldwide.
A central conclusion of the discussions was that prevention and smoking cessation remain fundamental public-health priorities, while harm reduction may be considered as an additional approach for adults who continue to smoke. At the same time, speakers stressed that different nicotine products should be assessed on the basis of available scientific evidence and their risk profiles, while clearly recognising that nicotine is addictive and that these products are not harmless.
Professor Ignatios Ikonomidis, President of SCOHRE and of the Organising Committee, set the framework for the discussion from the opening of the Summit, stressing that prevention and smoking cessation remain core priorities, while harm reduction should be assessed on the basis of scientific evidence and with the objective of achieving measurable public-health outcomes.
New evidence and challenges for Europe
Particular attention was given to recent developments in Europe, at a time when major policy discussions concerning tobacco and nicotine products are under way.
Recent developments in the European Parliament, both in relation to the EU cardiovascular diseases strategy and the implementation of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, highlighted questions around the consistency of regulatory approaches and whether policy decisions should take into account emerging evidence that different nicotine products may have different risk profiles.
A significant part of the discussion also focused on illicit trade. According to data presented by David Bird, around 11% of cigarettes consumed in Europe in 2025 were illicit, resulting in an estimated €22 billion in lost tax revenue. Speakers stressed that fiscal and regulatory policies should also account for the risk of driving growth in illicit markets.
Professor Panagiotis Liargovas argued that taxation remains an important public-health tool but should be designed together with anti-illicit-trade policy. He proposed three principles, calibration, differentiation and enforcement, warning that large changes in the relative price of legal and illegal products may have unintended consequences. As he put it, “Tax policy and anti-illicit trade policy should not be designed in separate rooms.”
The Summit also heard an analysis by We Are Innovation of approximately 82,000 submissions to the European Commission’s call for evidence on tobacco legislation. According to the organisation’s analysis, 91% of the submissions reviewed raised at least one strong objection to the direction under consideration, while some submissions called for tighter rather than lighter regulation.
The cost of smoking and the importance of prevention
The Summit also highlighted the wider economic burden of smoking. As speakers noted, its impact extends beyond health, affecting productivity, healthcare expenditure, public finances and economic growth. In this context, prevention should be treated as a long-term investment in public health.
The conference also placed particular emphasis on trust and risk communication. In the closing keynote, risk-communication expert Peter M. Sandman argued that scientific evidence alone is not enough to change entrenched perceptions. Transparency, acknowledgement of existing concerns and uncertainties, external scrutiny and access to data are critical to rebuilding trust.
As the Summit concluded, the central message was clear: public-health policy should remain capable of distinguishing between risks, monitoring real-world outcomes, acknowledging uncertainty and adapting as the evidence changes. The objective remains to protect young people, reduce smoking-related disease among adults and improve public-health outcomes.
More information: www.nosmokesummit.org
