MEPs Meet Tobacco Lobbyists Four Times as Often as in Previous Term
Since summer 2024, members of the European Parliament have declared more than 400 meetings with tobacco and nicotine industry representatives, versus about 100 in the 2019–2024 term. The rise comes as the EU prepares to revise its tobacco rules.
Members of the European Parliament have met tobacco and nicotine lobbyists four times as often over the past two years as during the whole of the previous parliamentary term, according to data analysed by POLITICO. Since taking office in summer 2024, MEPs have declared more than 400 meetings, compared with roughly 100 in the 2019–2024 term. The figures were gathered from the EU transparency register by Smoke Free Partnership, a coalition of NGOs campaigning against smoking.
About 75% of the meetings involved MEPs from right-leaning groups: the European People's Party, the European Conservatives and Reformists, and the far-right Patriots for Europe. The surge coincides with the EU preparing to overhaul several pieces of legislation on tobacco and nicotine, including rules on tobacco products, advertising and minimum taxes. Many meetings concerned the tobacco taxation directive, which is currently being examined by the Council of the EU.
Criticism and industry responses
Green MEP Tilly Metz called it shocking that there are more meetings with the industry than with anti-smoking NGOs and associations. She pointed to the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which says policymakers should meet tobacco lobbyists only when strictly necessary for regulating the sector. British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International say they act transparently and bring legitimate experience to the debate. The industry also cites a 2022 ruling of the EU Court of Justice and argues that the convention does not cover nicotine products without tobacco. WHO adviser Kristina Mauer-Stender disagrees, stressing that preventing nicotine dependence is an explicit aim of the treaty.
Effect on a report
In the summer, EPP lawmakers succeeded in softening wording in a non-binding report on cardiovascular disease, so that nicotine would be subject to "appropriate rules" rather than the "same" regulation as tobacco. The change was backed by Jessica Polfjärd and Elena Nevado del Campo, who rank third for the number of meetings with the sector. Patriots MEP Auke Zijlstra declared the most meetings (14). Smoke Free Partnership notes that meetings alone do not prove direct influence, but show the industry's opportunities to shape legislative debate.
