Can the EU stop smoking and vaping? Not quite, but it can raise taxes.

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · Aug 19, 2026 · 222 words · By Leticia Batista Cabanas; Mert Can Yilmaz

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What to know about Can the EU stop smoking and vaping? Not quite, but it can raise taxes.

Not really, but it can make it so expensive smokers think twice before lighting that cigarette.

Claims checked 9

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage

Left14%

Center86%

Right0%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Not really, but it can make it so expensive smokers think twice before lighting that cigarette.

Why it matters

That is the idea behind the European Commission's proposed overhaul of the Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD), which aims to raise minimum excise duties on cigarettes by 139 percent.

Common ground

It will also introduce EU-wide minimum taxes on vapes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Can the EU stop smoking and vaping? Not quite, but it can raise taxes.?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Smoking-related illnesses contribute to around 700,000 deaths annually?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/08/19/can-the-eu-stop-smoking-and-vaping…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7

verified Verified 1

info Single Source 1

verified

Claim 1: “Smoking-related illnesses contribute to around 700,000 deaths annually”

VERIFIED

The claim is supported by a statement from Vytenis Andriukaitis, the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, stating that approximately 700,000 people die every year in Europe from tobacco-related causes.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Smoking causes 480,000 deaths in the united states each year.Every year, there are over 400,000 smoking-related deaths in the United States. A large percentage of these are due to lung cancer, whose l…
https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Causes-And-Effects-Of-Smoking…

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web search NEUTRAL — Among the approximately 2.7 billion people exposed to second-hand smoke in 2023 were 767 million children aged 0 to 14, the study found. This exposure is estimated to have resulted in 1.66 million pre…
https://globalnation.inquirer.net/337366/second-hand-smoke-c…

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web search NEUTRAL — Read The Portugal News with fewer ads for 1.99€ per month or 19.99€ per year.According to Vytenis Andriukaitis, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, “Approximately 700,000 people die ever…
https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/portuguese-among-those-…

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Claim 2: “roughly 300 billion cigarettes sold across the EU every year”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources, including EuroNews and other web search results, confirm that approximately 300 billion cigarettes are sold annually in the EU.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. A supranational union with a total area of 4,233,255 km2 (1,634,469 sq mi) and an es…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on Thursday 23 June 2016 in the Unite…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_Kingdom_European_U…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The demographics of the European Union show a highly populated, culturally diverse union of 27 member states. As of 1 January 2026, the population of the EU is just under 452 million.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_European_U…

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “the European Commission's proposed overhaul of the Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD), which aims to raise minimum excise duties on cigarettes by 139 percent”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web sources (Caliber.Az, DosVape, and a third article) explicitly state that the European Commission's proposed overhaul of the Tobacco Taxation Directive aims to increase minimum excise duties on cigarettes by 139%.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tobacco was long used by various indigenous groups that lived in the Americas. The Columbian exchange introduced tobacco to the Europeans, and it became an addictive, lucrative and heavily traded comm…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tobacco

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tobacco taxation is the excise tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products. Tobacco taxation is the most effective tobacco control measure. It is used by many governments to generate revenue and to r…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_taxation

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Switzerland has tobacco legislation defined at federal and cantonal level. It covers protection of the population against passive smoking, restrictions on tobacco advertising, warnings on packaging an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_legislation_in_Switzer…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 4: “The proposal is still under negotiation because it requires unanimous approval from all 27 EU member states.”

CORROBORATED

The evidence for claim 4 explicitly states that the final decision rests with the Council of the European Union, where unanimous agreement among all 27 member states is required.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Union value-added tax (or EU VAT) is a value added tax on goods and services within the European Union (EU). The EU's institutions do not collect the tax, but EU member states are each re…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_value_added_tax

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shag, also known as rolling tobacco, loose tobacco, or informally (in Commonwealth English) as baccy, is thinly cut tobacco, used to make self-made cigarettes by hand rolling the tobacco into rolling …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shag_(tobacco)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tobacco smoking is the practice of burning tobacco and the absorption of the resulting smoke into one's body. The smoke may be inhaled, as is done with cigarettes, or released from the mouth, as is do…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_smoking

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “The Commission wants to tax these products for the first time at EU level and expand its tobacco tracking system to help combat illegal trade.”

CORROBORATED

Although the specific evidence section for claim 8 was empty, the evidence provided for claim 0 (Caliber.Az) explicitly mentions that the proposed directive would bring raw tobacco leaf into the EU's electronic tracking system to tackle black-market activity, and evidence for claim 1/7 confirms the intent to tax these products.

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Claim 6: “cost an estimated €25 billion in healthcare spending”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of hiking trail reviews (AllTrails) and National Park Service data, which are completely irrelevant to healthcare spending on smoking.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mar 18, 2016 · This is a popular trail for birding, hiking, and horseback riding, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to vi…
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/texas/rocky-point-trail

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web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · Rocky Point is a rocky overlook that juts out on Lake McDonald's shore. This route takes you there along the Lake McDonald Trail and the Rocky Point Nature Trail.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/montana/rocky-point-via-l…

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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 30, 2026 · The Rocky Point Trail follows along the western shore of Lake McDonald, within the burn scar of the Roberts Fire (2003). It offers beach access and excellent views of Lake McDonald.
https://www.nps.gov/places/rocky-point-trailhead.htm

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Claim 7: “According to the World Health Organization, 11.6 percent of teenagers aged 13 to 15 in the European region use products such as vapes, heated tobacco devices, or nicotine pouches.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent sources (Yahoo News Canada, Caliber.Az, and Ecigator) all cite the World Health Organization's figure of 11.6% of teenagers aged 13-15 in the European region using these products.

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web search NEUTRAL — The World Health Organization says 11.6% of teenagers aged 13 to 15 in the European region use tobacco or newer nicotine products. Health authorities consider vapes and heated tobacco products less ha…
https://caliber.az/en/post/eu-pushes-biggest-tobacco-tax-ove…

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web search NEUTRAL — These products include e-cigarettes (vapes), heated tobacco devices like IQOS, and tobacco-free nicotine pouches. The World Health Organization reports that 11.6% of teens aged 13 to 15 in the Europea…
https://ecigator.com/news/eu-tobacco-taxation-directive-vape…

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web search NEUTRAL — According to the World Health Organization, 11.6 percent of teenagers aged 13 to 15 in the European region use products such as vapes, heated tobacco devices, or nicotine pouches.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/eu-stop-smoking-vaping-not-0701207…

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Claim 8: “It will also introduce EU-wide minimum taxes on vapes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches.”

CORROBORATED

While the evidence provided for claim 1 specifically was noisy, the evidence for claim 0 (Caliber.Az) and claim 7 (Ecigator) confirms that the proposal targets vapes, heated tobacco, and nicotine pouches for taxation and tracking.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — European Union law is a system of supranational laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). Originally referred to as Community law, it has grown over time since the 1952 fo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_European_Union

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) or European Tobacco Products Directive (EUTPD) (2014/40/EU) is a directive of the European Union which places limits on the sale and merchandising of tobacco and t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_Products_Directive

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 9: “around 24 percent of Europeans still smoking”

CORROBORATED

The claim is corroborated by a cross-reference from EuroNews and a web search result from Travel Tomorrow, both stating that 24% of Europeans smoke.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Approximately Infinite Universe is the third solo album by Yoko Ono, released in early 1973 on Apple Records. A double album, it represents a departure from the experimental avant garde rock of her fi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Approximately_Infinite_Univers…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — An approximation is anything that is intentionally similar but not exactly equal to something else.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Approximation

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Black Europeans of African ancestry, or Afro-Europeans, refers to people in Europe who trace full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_African_diaspora_in_Euro…

+ 4 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.