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World No Tobacco Day once again puts the focus on the debate on how to reduce cigarette consumption without leaving out those who have already sought alternatives and without punishing small businesses that depend on a regulated sector and that support the economy by keeping their stores open. Without a doubt, one of the most controversial topics in recent years in the economic-health field.
Every May 31, the need to reduce the impact of smoking on public health is remembered. But this year the discussion comes in full review of the Tobacco Products Directiveknown as TPD, with which Brussels wants to update the rules that affect traditional cigarettes, vapes, heated tobacco, nicotine pouches and other products that have gained presence in recent years.
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The problem, according to the Spanish Consumer Association (ASESCON), is that the future European regulation could be redesigned without listening enough to the adult consumers who are part of this ecosystem and who have found in alternative products a way to abandon cigarettes.
The reality of small and medium-sized companies is also added to this debate. In Spain, SMEs represent 99.8% of the business fabric, generate 72% of employment and 65% of business GDP. In the tobacco and nicotine sector, there are more than 13,000 tobacconists and around 600 specialized vaping shops that operate legally, comply with regulations and depend directly on the decisions that are made now in Europe. However, in the TPD review, SMEs are only mentioned once.
ASESCON asks that adult consumers be heard
The Spanish Consumer Association, which represents more than 90,000 associates, has made a call to participate in the European public consultation so that the new regulation takes into account the reality of consumption, innovation and the ability of citizens to make informed choices.
The organization maintains that many adult smokers have found in alternative products a way to leave conventional cigarettes behind. For this reason, they warn that a regulation based solely on restrictions may end up causing the opposite effect to that sought.
And, as they explain, excessively limiting certain products or prohibiting certain flavors could make some of these consumers return to traditional cigarettes, which continue to be the most harmful product due to combustion.
The key is precisely there. The debate is not only about nicotine, but about combustion. The usual cigarette burns tobacco and generates smoke, while other products, although not risk-free, work in a different way. For advocates of differentiated regulation, putting all products in the same bag may be a mistake.
They warn of the risk of pushing consumption to the illegal market
Another point that most worries the association is the possible increase in the illegal market. ASESCON warns that poorly calibrated restrictions can shift part of the demand towards channels without health control, without guarantees for the consumer and without effective mechanisms to prevent sales to minors.
This risk is not just theoretical. In Spain, the illegal channel in some categories such as vapers already exceeds 40%, while in Europe it is around 50%, according to the data collected in the documentation provided.
Therefore, regulation must protect consumers without opening the door to a parallel market. The underlying problem is easy to understand: when a product disappears from the legal circuit or is restricted too much, demand does not always disappear. In many cases, this demand moves towards opaque channels where there are no controls, there are no health guarantees and there is no adequate supervision.
SMEs, almost invisible in the European debate
The review of the Tobacco Products Directive has also opened another front: the role of small and medium-sized businesses. The European Commission’s own analysis barely mentions SMEs once, despite the fact that they are an essential part of the economic fabric.
This is especially worrying in Spain, where tobacconists and specialized stores are part of a network of highly regulated small businesses. These are not large multinationals, but rather self-employed workers, local businesses and small companies that can be fully affected by any regulatory change.
Ignoring this reality means leaving an important part of the economy out of the debate. And also thousands of professionals who comply with the regulations and who may be put at a disadvantage if the restrictions favor, even indirectly, illegal channels.
This would even be noticeable in health spending
The debate about tobacco is not only health. It also has an important economic dimension. According to a study prepared by the College of Economists of Catalonia, a change towards alternative products could generate a positive impact of up to 2.3% of GDP, with benefits of tens of billions of euros.
The explanation lies in the cost that smoking generates in health systems. If a portion of adult smokers who are unable to quit switch to non-combustion products, the impact on public health and health spending could be relevant, always according to this approach.
This does not mean that alternatives to cigarettes are harmless. Total abstinence remains the best option for health. But harm reduction advocates insist that regulation must distinguish between combustion cigarettes and other products with different risk profiles.
A regulation that differentiates between combustion and alternatives
The big question that Europe now has on the table is how to regulate without oversimplifying. ASESCON focuses its warnings on the risk that too restrictive regulation on alternatives to cigarettes ends up harming adult smokers who have resorted to these products to quit smoking.
This involves differentiating between products with combustion and non-combustion alternatives. It also means avoiding rules that end up harming precisely those who have given up traditional cigarettes or are trying to do so.
Brussels seeks to protect young people and move towards a smoke-free generation, an objective shared by all actors in the debate. But the way to get there is what generates discussion. For ASESCON, protecting minors and reducing smoking should not mean leaving adult smokers who have found a way out of smoking in alternative products without options.
ASESCON encourages participation in public consultation
In this context, the Spanish Consumer Association has encouraged interested citizens to participate in the open public consultation in Europe. The entity considers that this process is an opportunity for consumers to express their opinion before new rules are consolidated that could mark the future of the sector.
The organization asks that the reality of those who have used alternative products to quit cigarettes be taken into account, as well as innovation and the ability of consumers to make informed choices.
Because the objective of World No Tobacco Day should be none other than to reduce the harm of smoking and move towards the end of cigarettes. But to achieve this, Europe needs regulation that does not limit itself to prohibiting or restricting, but rather listens to consumers, companies and experts. And this leads to a clear conclusion: it is not just about regulating more, but regulating better.