The Council takes position on the ban of single-use plastics in tobacco products in its Draft positions for the 11^th Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

The COP11 will take place from 17 to 22 November 2025. The Council’s document is issued in response to a report (not published) from the FCTC Secretariat which examined regulatory options regarding the prevention and management of waste generated by the tobacco industry, including a possible ban on plastic cigarette filters.

The Draft acknowledges that cigarette filters represent an important source of waste and stresses the importance of addressing the issue,while considering that biodegradable filters are not a viable alternative, due to their contamination during use.

With this view, the Council highlights that the Secretariat’s suggestion of a ban on the manufacture, import, distribution and sale of filtered cigarettes, as well as other single-use plastic-containing tobacco products and plastic accessories, constitutes “an additional regulatory option”.

In an effort to tackle the issue, the EU already imposed via the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) marking obligations on tobacco products with filters and filters in order to limit their discarding, as well extended producer responsibility requirements.

The idea of a ban, however, appears as a step further, with could be considered in the context of the evaluation of the SUPD, which is due by 3 July 2027. The next year will further be marked by the expected adoption of the evaluation of the tobacco control legislative framework in Q2 2026.

Key Takeaways

The EU in its note mainly limits itself to siding with the ambitions expressed by the FCTC Secretariat. In any event, this may constitute an important push for an action at the international level.

Such new objectives may however faster transcribe into actions at the EU level, both in the context of the tobacco legislation and the EU’s environmental legislation, notably the SUPD. In the next two years, the Commission will take part in an important information gathering exercise which will shape its agenda for the regulation of plastic cigarette products and product parts in the next years.

In a rapidly evolving landscape marked by an increased consideration of the EU industry’s competitiveness, businesses shall remain aware of new developments and where possible actively take part in the processes. We are on hand to assist in navigating these complex developments.