The Swedish ex-member of the European Parliament Johan Nissinen now acts as a lobbyist for the industry organization Global Institute for Novel Nicotine. This is not surprising, since he already campaigned for ‘tobacco harm reduction’ in his time as MEP. 

By the web editors

A former member of the European Parliament (EP), the Swede Johan Nissinen, now appears to be active as a lobbyist for the nicotine industry. This was evident when our overview of lobbying contacts in the EP was supplemented with recent meetings (ten new contacts since the end of November). On 4 December, Polish delegate Tomasz Buczek (Patriots for Europe) was visited by Nissinen together with Shem Baldeosingh, director of the Global Institute for Novel Nicotine (GINN). Topic of discussion: ‘Innovative nicotine products’. In December, Nissinen opened more doors in the EP for GINN, as can be read on LinkedIn.

Johan Nissinen (1989) was already active in the EP as an assistant from 2019 to 2022, until he became a Member of Parliament himself in October 2022 as a replacement for an outgoing Member. On behalf of the Swedish right-wing populist party Sverigedemokraterna he was a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists. According to his own statement on his LinkedIn profile, Nissinen was already active at the time as an advocate for the ‘tobacco harm reduction’ narrative.

As one of the activities during his time in the EP, he mentions: “Running political campaigns. Including the ‘harm reduction campaign’ promoting better alternatives for cigarettes such as snus or vapes raising awareness of public health via debates, social media (some posts + 100 000 views) and field campaigning.” And also: “Hosting events in the European Parliament, including The road to harm reduction”.

Consultant for the nicotine industry

Today, Nissinen is an “EU public affairs and political strategy consultant advising organisations on policy, messaging and advocacy.” Since mid-November, one of his clients appears to be the GINN, a trade association of producers of alternative nicotine products based in London. The organization wants to enrich the world with a ‘new perspective on nicotine’. In these months, this perspective should mainly lead to the weakening of the plans for the revision of the Tobacco Excise Directive, which the responsible European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra unveiled in July last year.

In December, the GINN, with the help of Nissinen and the Brussels lobbying firm EPPA, organised a Christmas party in the EP to which MEPs and their assistants were invited. A few photos show that there was not much enthusiasm for the meeting.

In his post on LinkedIn, GINN director Baldeosingh nevertheless writes: “Our reception attracted meaningful interest from across the political and media landscape, including several Members of the European Parliament, a key regional influencer from Sweden, and a major national broadcaster.” In an accompanying video on LinkedIn, Nissinen says that the drink was intended to put the GINN on the map and to let it be known that “we gonna be very active in Brussels next year”.

Baldeosingh continues: “A series of well‑coordinated meetings also opened valuable avenues for deeper engagement in Central and Eastern Europe.” These meetings have remained under the radar so far; in any case, they are not to be found in the EP’s Transparency Register. What is mentioned is another meeting that the GINN had on 3 December with Fernand Kartheiser, an independent MEP on behalf of the Alternativ Demokratesch Reformpartei from Luxembourg. Kartheiser has already had five meetings with the industry this parliamentary term. In 2026, according to the director, the GINN will further focus on the Baltic states and Northern and Eastern Europe.

Awarded by lobby club

For his “persistent advocacy for tobacco harm reduction”, Nissinen was also awarded a ‘Profile in Courage’ by the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) at the end of October for his period as an MEP. TPA is an American organization that claims to stand up for the interests of taxpayers and consumers. One of the organization’s topics is ‘tobacco harm reduction’, in which it opposes regulations in the US and as well as the World Health Organization and the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). In a post on the site, the TPA says it expects to participate in meetings of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee on alternative nicotine products in 2026.

Plea for ‘honest lobbying’

All this interference by the tobacco and nicotine industry in the legislative process is in flagrant violation of Article 5.3 of the FCTC Treaty, which states that the vested interests of the industry must not be considered in the legislative process. But Nissinen sees no problem with any form of lobbying, as long as it is done in all openness. In an opinion piece on the website of the British trade association of PR professionals CIPR, he writes that lobbying is part of democracy and does not have to be a threat, as long as it is done “honestly, transparently and in line with democratic values”.

However, the value of adhering to the provisions of democratically endorsed and ratified treaties such as the FCTC is apparently not part of Nissinen’s worldview.

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