The Eleventh Conference of the Parties (COP) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) concluded in Geneva on Saturday with calls to member states to take stronger action on reducing the environmental harm of tobacco use and increasing corporate liability.

But political stand-offs between countries, along with industry interference, hindered major breakthroughs on outlawing plastic cigarette filters, as well as stronger regulation of marketing and cross-border trade in e-cigarettes, flavoured tobacco and other new products.

A proposed ban on polluting plastic cigarette filters that constitute one of the most omnipresent sources of pollution on beaches and in waterways worldwide, failed to receive delegates’ support. 

A parallel regulation on the disclosure of tobacco product contents also failed to win sufficient backing  – despite what some observers described as a “real sense of urgency in the room.” Rather than an authoritative working group, delegates agreed to establish an informal consultation group, under the guidance of the WHO. 

Appeals to increase tobacco control funding and strengthen frameworks on environmental pollution and liability

Even so, the six-day conference, November 17-22, saw the passage of decisions that more explicitly recognise the serious damage caused by the entire tobacco supply chain, from farming and manufacturing to use, including the waste produced by electronic cigarettes.

Among these, COP delegates called on member states to consider stronger regulatory frameworks regarding polluting tobacco products and components, as well as holding the tobacco industry legally liable for the health and environmental damage it causes.

Reina Roa, President of the COP, stressed that, in the face of scientific evidence, the harm that is caused by tobacco products on the environment is “absolutely undeniable”.

Despite friction on key issues, delegates also agreed to increase state funding for domestic tobacco control programmes, and consider more new, forward-looking measures such as generational (youth) bans on cigarettes. 

Additionally, a decision was approved calling on parties to consider stronger legislative action to deal with criminal and civil liability related to tobacco control.

Speaking at a closing press conference Saturday, Andrew Black, Acting Head of the Secretariat said the meeting said, “These important decisions made by Parties to the Convention will contribute towards saving millions of lives in the years to come and protecting the planet from the environmental harms of tobacco.”

He said the meeting had reaffirmed the FCTC’s importance as one of the most widely embraced United Nations treaties in history. With more than 1600 registrations for the conference, representatives of 160 parties joined the tobacco control deliberations.

Experts see steps toward industry accountability

While the decisions on environmental pollution and liability are not binding, researchers and civil society actors hail this as a step towards holding the industry more accountable legally in the future.

“The tobacco control community is pushing to transition from responsibility to liability,” explained Filippos Filippidis, Chair of the Tobacco Control Committee at the European Respiratory Society and Associate Professor at the School of Public Health at Imperial College London.

“Current approaches in some places rely on extended producer responsibility, which is insufficient and allows the tobacco industry to greenwash their activities with minor initiatives,“ Filippidis said in an interview with Health Policy Watch.

Complete ban on all tobacco products in UN premises 

The COP also adopted a decision that advocates for a complete ban on the use and sale of all tobacco products, including heated tobacco products, and of novel and emerging nicotine products like e-cigarettes within all United Nations indoor and outdoor premises globally.

Another COP decision reaffirmed that domestic resource mobilization is a core strategy for achieving predictable funding, urging parties to adopt effective tobacco tax policies.

The WHO best practice for taxes on tobacco is to impose taxes such that the total tax burden constitutes at least 75% of the retail price of tobacco products.

‘Heated’ debate on new nicotine products

The most controversial topic concerned the way new products such as electronic and heated tobacco and nicotine products should be addressed in the Framework Convention – the first time the issue was discussed at a COP.

Tobacco control advocates want the Convention’s obligations and protocols for preventing and reducing nicotine addiction to be applied to these new products, as they are with traditional cigarettes.

The industry is directly targeting young people and adolescents with electronic products, also including attractive flavours and bright colours, to get them hooked on tobacco and/or nicotine use, control advocates pointed out.

The tobacco industry, on the other hand, claims these novel products constitute ‘harm reduction’ by supporting adult users in quitting or reducing the consumption of conventional cigarettes. Proponents of this view argue that more restrictive policies around these new products would unfairly deprive adults of cessation alternatives.

“This is arguably one of the most contentious issues in global tobacco control at the moment,” said Gan Quan, Senior Vice President of Tobacco Control at the New York City-based Vital Strategies, in an interview with Health Policy Watch.

Decisions postponed as time ran out

The debate over novel products saw two competing draft decisions vye for delegates’ support. One decision, tabled by a Brazilian delegation was “forward-looking” and “oriented towards encouraging parties to take additional measures to avoid and prevent nicotine addiction”, with respect to uptake of these products, senior FCTC Lawyer Kate Lannan said at a press conference.

Conversely, Saint Kitts and Nevis pitched a proposal that echoed more of an  industry-driven narrative on the issue. The delegation was awarded  the symbolic “Dirty Ashtray Award” by civil society group Global Alliance for Tobacco Control for its proposal.

FCTC Head Black explained that after “many, many hours of debate, consensus this year just wasn’t possible.” The issue was postponed to COP12, scheduled for 2027.

Industry interference remains biggest hurdle to progress

For tobacco control experts, industry interferencee remains the main issue preventing concrete steps toward more effective control of new tobacco products. 

“We know very well what works and what doesn’t,” explained Filippidis. “The problem is that because of interference and the big money that is involved, some countries remain reluctant to apply some of these policies.”

In parallel to the FCTC COP, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA), an industry-aligned group, organised a conference in Geneva called “Good COP 2.0”. The WHO FCTC’s approach is dictated by “ideology” and “prohibitionary paradigms” rather than evidence, the TPA alleged, accusing the WHO of hypocrisy for denying the evidence around harm reduction from alternative tobacco products.

“We saw an unprecedented level of industry interference at this COP. In terms of the composition of the delegations, it’s a bit out of control,“ Quan said in an interview with Health Policy Watch. “The goal for future progress is to do a better job in keeping the industry out of that discussion.”

In response to such concerns, Black affirmed the FCTC Secretariat’s commitment to using available guidelines and resources to prevent undue industry interference in the lead up to  COP12 where key issues like nicotine addiction, expanding bans on flavours and new products, environmental harm and liability questions will be further debated.

COP12 on tobacco control will be held in Yerevan, Armenia in 2027.

Image Credits: WHO, https://multimedia.who.int/asset-management/2AOJ8ZZ24GTB?WS=SearchResults, WHO, pixabay, Vital Strategies , WHO .