The objective is to contribute to the reduction of smoking-related morbidity and mortality by supporting tobacco product regulation. Directive 2001/37/EC prescribes amongst others that part of the data on tobacco ingredients, submitted by manufacturers, must be disseminated to the consumers. To inform the public well, authorities are obliged to make an understandable description of the different tobacco ingredients.

This project is directly related to the priority action on Smoking prevention and tobacco control: Tobacco control in all policies. The aim is to produce information documents on 14 tobacco ingredients which have the highest health hazard regarding their nature and amount in which they are generally added.

Documents will be prepared by the key group of two MS, translated by all partners and disseminated on national websites to inform consumers throughout Europe. Topics to be addressed are the nature, toxicity, dependence potential and hazard classification of the chemical compounds that are added to tobacco products. Tobacco industries cannot make these documents because they may not be objective in describing the data or neglect negative results and properties of the ingredients they use.

The public will be better informed in a comprehensive way and in lay language about the manipulation of products by the tobacco industry to make products more attractive, and the fact that considerable amounts of chemicals are added to the tobacco products they consume, which become toxic or even carcinogenic upon combustion/pyrolysis. Based on this new information, the consumer may decide to never start or to stop smoking.