European countries vary widely in the development and implementation of effective tobacco-control programs and policies. Why some countries lag behind others is inherently a political matter. National-level policymakers struggle between the need to protect public health and the need to recognize economic and ideological considerations. Within this context, use of scientific evidence plays an important role in the policy making process. Articles 20 and 22 of the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) oblige countries to develop and coordinate research on aspects of tobacco control and require of them to facilitate knowledge transfer and capacity building between countries.

This paper considers various ways how EU and national policy makers may accomplish this. We conclude that progress in three areas is needed: 1) generation of more scientific evidence relevant for each country; 2) facilitation of policy learning between countries; and 3) building capacity and collaborations between researchers and tobacco-control advocates to bridge the gap from research to policy, especially in countries with weak tobacco-control infrastructures.