The EU should scrap its tobacco tax hike and focus on smarter solutions

The EU should scrap its tobacco tax hike and focus on smarter solutions

If policymakers are serious about reducing smoking and improving public health, they need to recognise a basic truth: raising taxes without enforcing the law is a losing strategy. The European Union says it wants to reduce smoking. That’s a commendable goal. But its current plan to raise taxes on tobacco and nicotine products might end up doing more harm than good. By revising the Tobacco Excise Directive (TED), Brussels hopes to cut smoking rat…