GENEVA – Global health leaders are calling for robust new measures to combat the use of tobacco and related products, including restrictions on flavours to curb the surge in e-cigarettes use in adolescents and filter bans to protect the environment. 

These and other proposals will be debated over the next two weeks as over 1,400 delegates representing governments, international organisations and civil society gather in Geneva for the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

“The meeting will bring the world together to energize international cooperation and foster political will to address the global tobacco epidemic. Well over seven million people die each year because of tobacco,” said Andrew Black, acting head of the WHO FCTC Secretariat, at the opening press conference for the 11th Conference of Parties (COP11). 

The FCTC provides a binding legal framework and a package of control measures for the parties. Since it came into force 20 years ago, significant progress has been made. Today, over 75% of the global population – more than 6.1 billion people – are covered by at least one of the WHO’s MPOWER tobacco control measures, which are a set of cost-effective technical recommendations designed to reduce tobacco use.

“Since the FCTC came into effect, tobacco use has declined by a third worldwide, despite the tobacco industry’s efforts to undermine it,” noted WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

New products undermine successes

But this progress is facing increasing challenges as the tobacco industry markets new nicotine products such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches – all of which are now widely available in many countries.

Data presented by the WHO shows that, on average, e-cigarette use among adolescents aged 13 to 15 is nine times more prevalent than among adults in the same country.

Health bodies and researchers claim that the industry’s focus on sweet and fruity flavours, bright packaging and social media promotion is designed to attract young consumers.

The regulation of these new products is lagging. By the end of 2024, 62 countries still had no policy in place regarding electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and 74 countries had no minimum age for purchasing e-cigarettes. Only seven countries ban all characterising flavours in ENDS, excluding those that prohibit sales entirely.

Call for ban on filters, debate on flavours

The COP11 agenda includes robust regulatory proposals. High-level discussions are expected on extending existing regulations or bans on flavours across all products and member countries, and on holding the industry legally responsible for causing harm to public health.

“This is the first time the conference of the parties will be specifically addressing the obligation of parties to prevent and reduce nicotine addiction,“ said Kate Lannon, senior lawyer at the WHO FCTC Secretariat, with regard to evolving nicotine addiction among young people.

Protecting the environment will also be a focus. There are growing concerns over cigarette filters, which are made of cellulose acetate, a type of single-use plastic. The WHO and several member states, including the Netherlands, are urging parties to consider banning filters altogether. 

They argue that this would reduce toxic pollution and address the misconception among consumers that filters substantially reduce health risks. 

“These filters on cigarettes don’t provide any meaningful increase in the safety of cigarettes,“ explained FCTC’s Secretary Black.

Delegates will also discuss implementing a levy for environmental damage or establishing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) measures to collect funds to mitigate environmental harms across the entire tobacco product life cycle. Negotiations on increasing taxes on tobacco products are expected to continue.

Industry interference is the biggest barrier to regulation

Industry interference is reported as the “biggest constraint and barrier” to implementing the Convention. According to the 2025 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index (GII), the industry is becoming “increasingly aggressive” in its tactics. 

These include “harm reduction” narratives, targeting non-health departments (like finance and trade), “political capture” of delegations, and using “greenwashing” tactics – such as funding tree planting or cigarette butt clean-ups – to improve its public image and gain access to officials.

According to the University of Bath’s monitoring organisation, Tobacco Tactics, the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) is funded by the tobacco industry. The WVA has argued against flavour bans and tax increases, claiming that they disregard the needs of adult vapers.

In response, the FCTC Secretariat has urged all parties to fully implement Article 5.3, a legal clause requiring governments to protect their public health policies from industry interests.

Public health analysts suggest that failure in tobacco control is rooted in industry interference and a lack of political will, not a lack of regional capability or money. 

For example, while the European region is set to miss its 2025 reduction target, the Netherlands maintains one of the lowest levels of industry interference globally.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia, a low-income country, ranks fifth best in the Global Interference Index, using robust legal protections and strong cross-government coordination to build a resilient system against industry interference.

Image Credits: Felix Sassmannshausen, Stop Tobacco.