A group of 23 European experts in tobacco and nicotine science and regulation sent, at the end of February, an open letter addressed to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in which they denounce the existence of “false and misleading” official statements regarding the risks of smoke‑free products. The letter, published on the website of Clive Bates, a British expert in public policy on tobacco and harm reduction, aims to correct several statements attributed to European Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, which the signatories consider to be contrary to the available scientific evidence. He currently serves as the European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, within the second mandate of the Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen.
Background of the letter
The initiative comes in reaction to a series of public statements made by Commissioner Várhelyi, who repeatedly claimed that smoke‑free products — including e‑cigarettes and heated tobacco products — are just as harmful as traditional smoking.
Experts’ arguments
In the letter, the authors argue that the commissioner’s statements are false because they ignore the substantial body of evidence showing that smoke‑free products reduce exposure to toxic substances compared with combustible cigarettes. They emphasize that there is no recognized toxicological assessment or scientific analysis supporting the commissioner’s claims, while numerous pieces of evidence indicate that smoke‑free alternatives pose only a fraction of the risk associated with conventional smoking. They underline that the publicly expressed official position even contradicts earlier evaluations and statements by European institutions, which they consider a serious departure from scientific rigor.
The experts warn that such statements could negatively impact European public policies. They note that misrepresenting the risks could distort essential processes such as the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive, the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, or the reform of excise legislation, jeopardizing the coherence of health policies. The letter states that this misrepresentation will have multiple consequences for public health and for the European policymaking process, highlighting that more than 100 million users of nicotine products in the EU have the right to accurate and responsible communication.
Reactions of the signatories and requests addressed to the Commission
The group of experts calls on the Commission to publicly correct the commissioner’s statements and to ensure that the institution’s official positions are based strictly on robust scientific assessments. The document states that the statements attributed to Commissioner Várhelyi risk “eroding the EU’s credibility” in the eyes of citizens and institutional partners, including within international bodies such as the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
The letter also warns that adopting official positions based on incorrect information makes it impossible to apply European principles such as proportionality, non‑discrimination, and precaution in a coherent manner.
The letter sent to the European Commission centers on an essential issue: the responsibility of European institutions to communicate only scientifically accurate information to the public, especially in sensitive areas such as public health and tobacco and nicotine policies.
The authors call for an official correction and a reassessment of the public statements made, in order to avoid undermining EU policies, citizen trust, and institutional credibility.
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