The measure is contained in a joint decree from the Ministries of Finance and Health, which Lusa news agency had access to, and which sets the percentage of tobacco tax revenue to be allocated to the implementation of active smoking prevention and control policies, also defining the entities and health sector programs to which the funds can be allocated.

Provided for in the State Budget for 2026, the measure is justified, according to the decree, considering that smoking "continues to be one of the main preventable causes of morbidity and mortality in Portugal" and that reducing its prevalence is a public health priority.

The revenue to be collected this year will be transferred to the Central Administration of the Health System, which will allocate funds to various purposes, including the National Program for the Prevention and Control of Tobacco Use, under the coordination of the Directorate-General of Health (DGS).

The order stipulates that the revenue will also be allocated to various national programs for respiratory diseases, oncological diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and the promotion of oral health and school health, as well as the implementation of pilot projects for screening and early diagnosis of lung cancer to be developed in the Local Health Units (ULS) of the National Health Service (SNS).

Screening programs

Among other measures, it is also foreseen that the amount to be collected this year will be allocated to the implementation and expansion of population-based screening programs and smoking cessation consultations and programs to be developed in primary health care and hospital care at the ULS, including the financing of supporting pharmacological therapies by the SNS.

Another order from the Ministry of Health stipulates that the largest share of the revenue to be collected – 35% – will be allocated to the implementation and expansion of population-based screening programs, followed by the National Oral Health Promotion Program, with 22.5%. Percentages ranging from 10% to 1% were allocated to other purposes.

In practice, the measure allows for the direct financing of three priority intervention areas: prevention of consumption, strengthening support for those who wish to quit smoking, and early diagnosis of diseases associated with tobacco use.