Request for documents on consumer protection and misleading claims regarding harm reduction products
Dear Justice and Consumers,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:
I request access to all documents (including correspondence, legal opinions, meeting minutes, and internal notes) from 1 January 2021 to the present, concerning:
– Assessment of consumer protection issues related to the marketing, labelling, or advertising of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and nicotine pouches.
– Discussions or complaints about misleading health claims made by tobacco companies regarding harm reduction products.
– Contacts with Member States, regulators, or industry representatives regarding enforcement of consumer protection rules for these products.
I would like the search to cover the period from 1 January 2021 to the present.
If parts of the requested documents are covered by exceptions under Regulation 1049/2001, I kindly ask for partial access to be granted to the remaining parts. I am also open to receiving the documents in electronic format.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Yours faithfully,
Irene van den Berg
Linker Rottekade 292, unit 1.7
3034 CV Rotterdam
The Netherlands
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 29/09/2025 and registered on 29/09/2025 under the case number
2025/4961.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 20/10/2025. We will let you know
if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working days.
To find more information on how we process your personal data, please see
[1]the privacy statement.
Yours faithfully,
Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Mrs Van Den Berg,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2025/4961.
Kind regards,
DG SANTE, Unit B4
Dear Ms Takki,
Thank you for your message. Please find below the clarifications you requested:
1) Point on photographs / health warnings library
My request does not concern any alleged unauthorised use of photographs from the library of combined health warnings. Please disregard this aspect.
2) Scope of ‘harm reduction products’
For the purposes of this request, “harm reduction products” refers to:
- e-cigarettes and refill containers;
- heated tobacco products;
- nicotine pouches;
- “novel tobacco products,” as defined in Article 2 of Directive 2014/40/EU (TPD).
3) Member States, regulators and industry representatives
Please focus on documents referring to the following Member States: Italy, Greece, Romania, the Netherlands and France.
Please include contacts with the following industry representatives: British American Tobacco (BAT), Philip Morris International (PMI, including Swedish Match), Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and Imperial Brands, as well as their EU-level associations Tobacco Europe (formerly CECCM) and the Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA).
By regulators, I mean national competent authorities dealing with tobacco/nicotine policy and consumer protection in the above Member States, as well as any references to the CPC network or other cooperation with national authorities.
4) Consumer protection rules referenced
Please include documents referring to:
- the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC);
- the Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU) provisions on labelling, presentation and product information;
- the Tobacco Advertising Directive (2003/33/EC), where relevant to marketing claims.
5) Timeframe and formats
The time period remains 1 January 2021 to the present. I am happy to receive electronic copies and, where an exception applies, to receive partial access to the remainder of the documents.
If helpful to reduce workload, you may prioritise correspondence (including emails), meeting agendas/minutes and briefings that match the above scope, with rolling disclosure.
Kind regards,
Irene van den Berg
Dear Ms Van Den Berg,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 29/09/2025 under case number EASE 2025/4961.
We are currently working on your request. However, we have not yet been
able to gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full analysis of
your request. We will not be able to send you the reply within the
prescribed time limit expiring on 12/11/2025
The application concerns documents held by different Services, which must
be consulted.
Therefore, in line with Article 7(3) of [1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001,
we need to extend this time limit by 15 additional working days. The new
time limit expires on 03/12/2025.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
DG SANTE, Unit B4
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Ms Van Den Berg,
Please accept our apologies for the delay.
Given the sensitivity of the file, and in order to ensure that third-party
documents are disclosed to the extent possible, we need to consult the
originator of the documents.
We are doing our utmost to finalize the reply as soon as possible. Please
rest assured that, once it is signed at the appropriate level, it will be
sent out as soon as possible.
Thank you for your understanding.
Best regards,
SANTE B4 Secretariat
European Commission
DG Health and Food Safety
Unit B.4 – Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Dear Ms van den Berg,
Please see in attachment the reply to your request.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Secretariat
European Commission
DG Health and Food Safety
Dear Ms van den Berg,
Could you please confirm receipt of this email below with the attachments.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Secretariat
European Commission
DG Health and Food Safety
From: SANTE CONSULT-B4 <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2026 3:29 PM
To: [FOI #16390 email]
Cc: SANTE CONSULT-C3 <[email address]>
Subject: Access to documents request: 2025/4961
Dear Ms van den Berg,
Please see in attachment the reply to your request.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Secretariat
European Commission
DG Health and Food Safety