The new edition of the Tobacco Control Scale 2025 (TCS 2025) was presented today at the European Conference on Tobacco or Health (ECTOH) 2026 in Milan. The report, presented by expert Luk Joossens , provides an updated analysis of tobacco control policies in 37 European countries and sends a worrying message: for the first time since the index was created, more countries have worsened their scores than have improved them.
The Tobacco Control Unit of the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) has collaborated in the preparation of this report, contributing to the analysis and monitoring of tobacco control policies in Europe. This unit has also designed the new Tobacco Control Scale website , which facilitates access and comparison of data between countries.
A setback in control policies
As the report highlights, one of the main causes of this decline is the lack of updating tobacco taxes in many European countries, which have not kept pace with inflation between 2020 and 2024. This situation has reduced the effectiveness of one of the most powerful measures to reduce consumption: increasing prices through taxation.
In addition, TCS 2025 highlights other structural weaknesses. In particular, insufficient regulation of heated tobacco products and other emerging products has contributed to the loss of points in several countries, as they are often not subject to the same restrictions as conventional cigarettes.
The report also points out that some of the countries with the worst results coincide with those Member States that defend laxer positions in the negotiations of the European Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD), a key instrument to strengthen public health policies at a European level.
The leading countries
Despite this negative trend, the report also recognizes the efforts of the countries that lead the ranking in tobacco control. The top four ranked countries in the TCS 2025 are:
- Ireland
- United Kingdom
- Netherlands
- France
These countries stand out for the application of comprehensive and sustained policies over time, including high taxes on tobacco, strict regulations, information campaigns and support services for smoking cessation.
The full Tobacco Control Scale 2025 report is available at: https://tobaccocontrolscale.org/