Brussels’ target to make Europe ‘smokefree’ by 2040 is faltering. High taxes, messy regulations, and a booming market for illegal cigarettes are undermining Europe’s anti-smoking efforts. Lately, though, the European Parliament has begun claiming smokefree successes and falling smoking rates. Has Brussels finally found a route to making its smokefree dream a reality?
For a population to be considered ‘smokefree,’ fewer than 5% of adults must be smokers. Achieving that by 2040 will require some huge drops in smoking rates. Around 1 in 4 European adults smoke. Smoking is above 20% in most European countries – sometimes almost double that. Getting adults to give up cigarettes in their tens of millions in such a short timeframe is an uphill struggle, so Brussels will need a strong strategy. Its current approach of raising excise taxes and regulating products to within an inch of their lives is backfiring – smokers simply switch to illicit cigarettes.
Why, then, did the European Parliament X account post an image comparing smoking rates across EU member states and boasting that “EU tobacco rules are helping to reduce smoking and prevent deaths”? Has Brussels discovered an alternative set of policies which might offer more success in bringing smoking rates down?
The European Parliament’s social media post highlights Sweden as the member state with the lowest smoking rate, at just 8%. (It also concedes in the post that new data suggests the Swedish smoking rate has dropped even further to 5%, making it the EU’s first smokefree country.) Sweden has left its European neighbours in the dust. Awkwardly for the EU, though, Sweden achieved its success by ignoring what Brussels was doing and pursuing a totally different approach.
The secret is this: the Swedish government did not get its smokers to quit en masse by forcing them away from cigarettes with aggressive tax hikes and smoking bans. In fact, many of Sweden’s smokers have not given up tobacco at all. Instead, they have switched from cigarettes to snus, a smokeless tobacco product. Sweden’s 1.1 million snus users simply place the product under their upper lip. No smoke required.
Switching from cigarettes to snus is near-miraculous for your health. Since snus doesn’t require burning tobacco, the switch brings a
Comments
20 responses to “Brussels Aims to Make Europe ‘Smokefree’ – European Parliament Already Has a Plan”
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Fancy that, Brussels wants to make us smokefree by 2040—good luck finding a legal cigarette by then! 😂 Meanwhile, Sweden’s off enjoying its snus while we’re stuck in a smoke-filled limbo. Cheers to progress, I guess! 🍻
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Oh, brilliant move, Brussels! Because who doesn’t love paying through the nose for their habits while the black market thrives? 🙄 If only logic were part of the plan, we might actually get somewhere! 🚬💸
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Brilliant move, Brussels! Instead of tackling the actual problem, let’s just pat ourselves on the back for counting all the smokers who’ve just traded their cigs for snus. 🍃 It’s like swapping your Ferrari for a bicycle and claiming you’re now the king of green transport! 😂
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Looks like Brussels is aiming for a smoke-free utopia, but with the current plan, they might as well be trying to catch smoke in a net. 😂 Maybe Sweden should give them a masterclass on ‘not really quitting’!
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Seems like Brussels is really getting the hang of this smokefree gig, eh? 😂 Just a few more tax hikes and they’ll have us all puffing on invisible cigarettes while we pat ourselves on the back for “achievements.”
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Seems like Brussels is on a mission to turn Europe into a smoke-free utopia while the rest of the continent revels in a cheeky game of “who can find the best black market cigarettes.” 😂 Maybe they should just stick to their day job of over-regulating everything else!
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Brilliant move, Brussels! Instead of tackling the actual issue of smokers, let’s just applaud ourselves for “reducing” rates while the rest of Europe sneaks around with their cheeky snus. 😂 Typical EU strategy: just throw up a fancy graph and call it a day! 🍷
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Looks like Brussels is playing a riveting game of “smoke and mirrors” while Sweden’s over there with its snus, quietly winning the health lottery. 🤷♂️ Maybe they should take notes instead of just puffing out plans! 💨
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Brilliant move by Brussels, really. Why aim for a smokefree Europe when we can just tax ourselves into oblivion and hope for the best? 😏 #Snus4TheWin
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Brussels thinks it’s on the path to a smokefree utopia by 2040—good luck with that! Meanwhile, Swedes are over here sipping their coffee, switching to snus, and giving a cheeky wink to the EU. 😏💨
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Brussels thinks it can wave a magic wand and make Europe smokefree by 2040—right, because clearly, putting up taxes and banning stuff always works wonders! 😂 Maybe next, they’ll tackle world hunger with a bake sale. 🍰
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Oh, brilliant plan, Brussels! Let’s just tax everyone into oblivion and watch them flock to the black market like it’s a trendy new club. 🍷💨
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Looks like Brussels is on a roll with its smokefree ambition—just like a cheeky Belgian waffle, sweet but not quite the real deal. 🤷♂️ Meanwhile, Sweden is off having a smoke-free party while we’re here counting tax euros and wondering how to turn puffer jackets into profit. 🍻
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Making Europe ‘smokefree’ by 2040? That’s rich! Might as well aim for a no-traffic policy in Rome while they’re at it. 🚦😂
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Oh, brilliant, Brussels is on a mission to turn Europe into a no-smoking utopia by 2040! Just what we need—more taxes and regulations pushing smokers to the black market! 😂 #Success
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Ah, the European Parliament and their grand plan to make Europe smokefree by 2040 – I’m sure all those smokers will just love to swap their fags for snus, because who doesn’t want a minty pouch under their lip instead? 🤷♂️ Guess we’ll see if high taxes and bans really do the trick or just push folks to the black market for a cheeky smoke!
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Brilliant idea, really! Let’s just tax the living daylights out of cigarettes and watch everyone magically stop smoking while they casually swap to black market smokes! 😏💸
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You know, it’s impressive how Brussels plans to make Europe smokefree by 2040—right after they figure out how to stop people from buying fags on the black market. But hey, maybe they’ll just send out a well-worded tweet and everything will magically sort itself out. 🤷♂️
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So, Brussels has a plan to turn Europe into a ‘smokefree’ utopia by 2040—brilliant, right? 😂 Meanwhile, the rest of us are just trying to dodge the taxman while the black market flourishes. Cheers to progress! 🍻
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Looks like Brussels is trying to turn Europe into a ‘smokefree’ utopia by 2040—good luck with that when half the continent is still puffing away like it’s the last ciggy on earth. Maybe they should take a leaf out of Sweden’s book instead of playing tax tag; after all, who knew snus was the secret to paradise? 😂💨
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