On August 29, according to foreign reports, the European Commission has registered a European Citizenship Initiative (ECI) to "achieve a smoke-free environment and Europe's first smoke-free generation by 2030".

ECI urges the committee to introduce legislation to ban the sale of nicotine products to people born in 2010 or later and to take action to address the environmental risks posed by tobacco use.

The ECI also called for measures to reduce cigarette waste, expand outdoor e-cigarette restrictions and eliminate tobacco advertising.

By registering the ECI, the Commission acknowledges that it is legally acceptable, but does not comment on the substance of the initiative.

Organizers of the ECI now have six months to begin collecting signatures. The European Commission will have to respond if the initiative receives at least 1 million declarations of support from citizens of at least seven EU member states within a year.

At that time, the Committee may forward or deny the request. If it rejects ECI, the committee will have to explain its reasons.

Introduced with the Lisbon Treaty in 2007, the ECI initiative aims to increase direct democracy by empowering EU citizens to participate directly in the development of trade union policy.

Since ECI began, the Commission has received at least 118 requests to initiate ECI, of which 91 were admissible and therefore eligible for registration.