Consumers hang giant flag over bridge in Warsaw and call on the Polish government to veto EU minimum taxes on vapes and nicotine pouches

Warsaw, 8.11.2026 – Ex-smokers and consumers from the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) hung a giant flag reading “Smoke-free Europe: One Goal. Many Paths.” above Warsaw. Their message to the Polish government: Poland cannot afford to let Brussels price smokers out of quitting.

Michael Landl, Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, said:

“In Prague, smokers are quitting. In Warsaw, they are not. The difference is not willpower, it is price and access. More than 8 million Poles still smoke, and Brussels now wants to make the products that help them quit nearly as expensive as cigarettes. That is a gift to the black market, paid for with Polish lives. The Polish government has a veto over EU tax law, and it must use it. Warsaw must not let Brussels trample on Polish smokers.”

Between the 2021 and 2024 Eurobarometer surveys, the share of Polish adults who smoke rose from 26% to 27%, an increase of almost 4%. Roughly 70,000 Poles die from smoking-related diseases every year.

Across the border, the picture is reversed. Over the same period, smoking in the Czech Republic fell from 30% to 23%, a drop of 23%. Czechia kept less harmful alternatives affordable and accessible: e-liquids and nicotine pouches carried no excise tax until 2024, and they are still taxed well below cigarettes.

Consumers call on the Polish government to implement a harm reduction strategy like the Czech Republic and to veto EU plans on additional bans and regulations on less harmful nicotine products.