Following our letter about the statements of the EU Health Commissioner, Oliver Váhelyi, I was interviewed by EU Perspectives, a Czech-based European journal.
If Brussels ignores science on safer nicotine, it risks losing public trust, EU Perspectives, March 2026
Following an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen—which he co-signed with other experts in response to Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi’s statements on lower-risk nicotine products—Mr Bates spoke to EU Perspectives about the delicate balance policymakers must strike when regulating tobacco use, lest the cure prove worse than the disease.
“If European citizens start to believe that Brussels works for the unaccountable interest groups that crowd around the Commission and Parliament buildings, we will have a much bigger problem,” said Clive Bates in response to Commissioner Várhelyi’s disregard of scientific evidence on less harmful nicotine products.