Latest news with #FCTC
Cision Canada
4 days ago
- Health
- Cision Canada
Global Panel Urges Rapid Reform of WHO and FCTC to Embrace Science, Transparency, and Consumer Voices
WASHINGTON, June 17, 2025 /CNW/ -- The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is leading a robust and candid panel discussion on Wednesday alongside the Global Forum on Nicotine in Warsaw, Poland. Consumer advocates will issue a resounding call for urgent reform of the taxpayer-funded World Health Organization (WHO) and its tobacco control arm, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The panel argues that years of politicized policymaking, opaque governance, and disregard for consumer perspectives have rendered the FCTC increasingly ineffective and out of touch with scientific and social realities. Calls for reform of international health institutions have intensified in recent years, with the WHO's pandemic response drawing widespread criticism and renewed scrutiny of its broader governance failures. The FCTC has not been immune. With smoking rates not declining in many regions and growing disillusionment about the Convention's approach, panellists say it's time for a serious reset. Martin Cullip, TPA International Fellow, observes that it has been clear for some time that WHO policies are missing the mark. "The FCTC has become a political instrument rather than a science-based treaty. If the WHO is serious about reform, the FCTC must be radically overhauled." Ignacio Leiva, President of ASOVAPE in Chile, shares his country's perspective. "In Chile, including consumer voices helped us pass a law that recognizes the difference between smoking and vaping. That's exactly what the FCTC needs. Evidence-based policymaking built on dialogue, not dogma." Nancy Loucas, representing Asian consumers, highlights the real-world harms of the WHO's current stance. "The WHO's policy shift against tobacco harm reduction ignores decades of evidence and disproportionately punishes low and middle-income countries. This isn't public health, it's health inequality." Consumer advocacy is a recurring theme, with speakers emphasising the importance of hearing from the people most affected by nicotine policies. Maria Papaioannoy of Rights 4 Vapers, Canada, emphasizes that "it's critical to counter the misinformation about safer nicotine products, especially when it comes from those in power. Consumers have voices, and it's time they were heard at FCTC COP11." Tom Gleeson, Trustee of New Nicotine Alliance Ireland, echoes the call for evidence-based reform. "The FCTC hasn't adapted since 2005 to account for safer nicotine products," he said. "Instead, it pats itself on the back for reducing percentages while the number of smokers stays the same. The war on tobacco shouldn't come at the cost of the very people it's meant to help." The panel discussion concludes with a unified appeal. Reform must focus on transparency, scientific integrity, and consumer inclusion. Participants call on the WHO and FCTC to step away from ideological posturing and prohibitionist strategies and instead commit to pragmatic policies that save lives. The panel's message is clear. Real reform starts when science speaks louder than politics and when the people most affected are invited to the table.
IOL News
11-06-2025
- Health
- IOL News
Vaping industry calls for smarter nicotine policies as smoking rates surge in South Africa
While advocating for alternatives like e-cigarettes and vaping as viable harm reduction tools, Yeo pointed to the necessity of cessation support mandated by the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which South Africa has yet to implement. Image: File photo The vaping industry has called for smarter nicotine policies as South Africa grapples with alarming increases in combustable tobacco smoking rates. This comes as Parliament continues to hold public consultations on the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, which seeks to impose stricter product and related product processing, regulate tobacco product and advertising, and standardise the 'packaging and appearance' of tobacco and electronic delivery system products. The Tobacco Bill prohibits leaves no room for any form of display of tobacco and electronic delivery systems, including both nicotine and non-nicotine products. Delivering oral submissions to the Portfolio Committee on Health on Wednesday, Kurt Yeo from Vaping Saved My Life made a plea not only for regulated alternatives but for a complete paradigm shift in how South Africa views nicotine consumption and tobacco harm reduction. 'I stand before you today, not as an opponent of regulations but a voice for a smarter, evidence-based approach to nicotine policy in South Africa. I represent the perspectives of consumers, especially smokers looking to quit and to those who have chosen safer alternatives. They deserve access to safe alternatives, accurate information, and non-coercive public health policy,' Yeo said. 'In real terms, more people smoke, snort, and chew tobacco than two decades ago, most of whom are in low middle-income countries. I believe it's because most of the attention has been directed at supply, and not addressing the demand. 'In South Africa, smoking prevalence has surged, from 6.7 million smokers in 2012 to 11.1 million in 2021, a staggering 65.7% increase. This is not due to the lack of regulation, but rather a failure of enforcement and the lack of cessation support. We need a standard set of robust, consistent reporting tools focused on nicotine consumption.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ With a mere 0.78% of South Africans managing to quit smoking in 2021, Yeo said the current policy landscape appeared ineffective, placing undue pressure on smokers by offering little more than ultimatums. While advocating for alternatives like e-cigarettes and vaping as viable harm reduction tools, Yeo pointed to the necessity of cessation support mandated by the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which South Africa has yet to implement. 'We must be cautious not to criminalise addiction or alienate those trying to quit. Coercion will not achieve the results that education and support can. New evidence shows that non-combustible nicotine products carry significantly less risk. Lifetime cancer risk and toxic exposures are dramatically lower than with smoking,' Yeo said. 'We must shift from the harm-is-harm ideology to the risk continuum approach. That's what saves lives. E-cigarettes, or vapes, are significantly less harmful than combustible tobacco.' The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) said it has become increasingly concerned about the to-date unregulated nature of Vapour Products in South Africa, and to this end sought to address this lacuna. ARB CEO, Gail Schimmel, said they were in support of the ban in so far as it relates to traditional tobacco products such as cigarettes.
Scoop
30-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Flavoured Nicotine Products Driving Youth Addiction, WHO Warns
This is especially true among youth users: it's one of the main reasons young people experiment with tobacco or nicotine products in the first place, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO). Flavoured nicotine and tobacco products are inherently addictive and toxic – often more so than regular tobacco. Flavours increase usage, make quitting harder, and have been linked to serious lung diseases, WHO maintains. Despite decades of progress in tobacco control, flavoured products are luring a new generation into addiction and contributing to eight million tobacco-related deaths each year. Youth-oriented marketing Nicotine products are often marketed directly toward young people through bright and colourful packaging featuring sweet and fruity flavour descriptors. Research shows that this type of advertising can trigger reward centres in adolescent brains and weaken the impact of health warnings. Young people also report a growing presence of flavoured nicotine product marketing across all social media platforms. This marketing of flavours works across all forms of nicotine and tobacco products, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, pouches and hookahs. WHO said flavours such as menthol, bubble gum and cotton candy, are 'masking the harshness of tobacco' and other nicotine products, turning what are toxic products 'into youth-friendly bait.' Call for action Just ahead of World No Tobacco Day, the UN health agency released a series of fact sheets and called on governments to ban all flavours in tobacco and nicotine products to protect young people from lifelong addiction and disease. It cited Articles 9 and 10 of the successful 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which obliges countries to regulate the contents and disclosure of tobacco products, including flavourings. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that ' without bold action, the global tobacco epidemic…will continue to be driven by addiction dressed up with appealing flavours. ' As of December 2024, over 50 countries had adopted policies regulating tobacco additives, with most targeting flavourings by banning flavour labels or images and restricting the sale of flavored products. Some also control flavour use during production. However, the WHO noted that tobacco companies and retailers have found ways to circumvent these rules, offering flavour accessories including sprays, cards, capsules and filter tips, to add to unflavoured products. Still, WHO is urging all 184 FCTC parties (which make up 90 per cent of the world's population) to implement and enforce strong bans and restrictions on flavoured products and related additives.
The Hindu
30-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Anti Tobacco Forum opposes reported launch of nicotine-laced candies, toffees, and ice creams
Anti Tobacco Forum (ATF), Mysuru, has opposed the reported launch of nicotine-laced candies, toffees, and ice creams by the tobacco industry in different parts of the world. In a statement issued on the eve of 'World No Tobacco Day 2025' on the theme 'Unmasking the appeal: Exposing industry tactics on tobacco and nicotine products', Vasanthkumar Mysoremath, convenor of ATF, Mysuru, said the nicotine-laced products launched by tobacco industry have emerged as the newest threat to public health from tobacco that is already claiming a large number of deaths worldwide. Designed to make the children and youth of today addicted to tobacco, these nicotine-laced products should be banned by the authorities like e-cigarettes, said Mr. Mysoremath. 'Tobacco industry is aiming at turning children into addicts to increase profits,' said Mr. Mysmoremath, while pointing out that WHO expects to create awareness in the minds of children/adults about the harmful effects of consuming tobacco products and wants countries to adopt stronger policies, including a ban on flavours that make tobacco and nicotine products more appealing for protecting public health. Pointing out tobacco kills 8 million people annually, he said tobacco consumption leads to various non-communicable diseases like cancer, blood pressure, lung infection, asthma, etc. Mr. Mysoremath regretted that many governments of signatory countries to the WHO-sponsored Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) are found to be adopting dual standards in implementing the guidelines prescribed in FCTC. 'Some countries even subsidise tobacco cultivation by financing through supply of implements, concessions for fertilizers, easy loans through government banks, procuring excess grown tobacco by licensed and unlicensed growers, insurance money of policy holders invested in tobacco companies, elected political leaders assuring tobacco farmers to continue to grow quality tobacco and participating in events organised by tobacco farmers association and tobacco industry,' he said. 'Why is cultivation, production, and supply system of tobacco not being efficiently controlled is the big question?', he asked and wondered why the authorities, who had the discretion to either withdraw or cancel the permits and sanctions to grow tobacco and start tobacco products manufacturing facility,were not doing so. In order to help farmers give up tobacco farming and become debt-free, Mr. Mysoremath sought the creation of a corpus from the Budget or seek international funding and clear the outstanding loans of farmers as a one-time tobacco control measure and withdraw their licenses to cultivate tobacco with an affidavit that they will adopt alternate crops. 'This way, it is possible to effectively control the raw material supply to the tobacco industry,' he said.
India Gazette
30-05-2025
- Health
- India Gazette
WHO urges members to curb tobacco consumption under
New Delhi [India], May 30 (ANI): World No Tobacco Day, marked annually on 31 May, addresses a major public health challenge--the persistent burden of tobacco use. This year's theme, 'Unmasking the Appeal' compels us to expose the deceptive marketing tactics and manipulative strategies employed by the tobacco industry, especially those targeting our youth and women, a statement by Saima Wazed, Regional Director for WHO South-East Asia said. Tobacco use remains the single most preventable cause of death worldwide and is a leading risk factor for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory illness. Our Region continues to bear a mammoth share of the global tobacco burden, with some 411 million adult tobacco users across our eleven countries. With one-third of the world's tobacco users, South-East Asia is the epicentre of the global tobacco epidemic. Most concerning is the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use, with the Region accounting for over 280 million users, or 77% of the global total, the statement said. The statement says, despite these alarming figures, we have reason to be hopeful. Between 2000 and 2022, tobacco use among adult men and women in the region declined from 68.9% to 43.7%, and from 33.5% to 9.4%, respectively. These significant reductions are the result of sustained, evidence-based tobacco control efforts led by governments, civil society, and public health advocates. Our collective resolve is paying off. We are on track to meet the NCD Global Target of a 30% relative reduction in tobacco use prevalence by 2025 among people aged 15 years and older, compared to 2010 levels. In fact, we are projected to achieve a 34% reduction, a rare and remarkable accomplishment. However, these gains must not breed complacency, the statement read. Tobacco remains an ever-evolving and formidable threat. We now face aggressive industry marketing of new and emerging nicotine and tobacco products (NENTPs) -- such as electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and flavoured nicotine pouches. These are being disguised as safer alternatives and deliberately targeted at children and adolescents. An estimated 11 million adolescents aged 13-15 years are already addicted to tobacco products in our region, nearly 30% of the global total in this age group. The theme of World No Tobacco Day 2025 urges us to unmask these dangerous industry ploys. Flavoured nicotine and tobacco products, attractive packaging, influencer endorsements on social media, and misleading health claims are tools of manipulation designed to recruit new users and keep existing users addicted. The statement called on the countries to take bold actions, including: strengthening implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and MPOWER provisions, enforcing comprehensive bans on NENTPs, expanding quality tobacco cessation services, and protecting health policies from tobacco industry interference in line with Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC. The list further added- countering surrogate advertising and misleading promotion of smokeless tobacco and arecanut products, and investing in youth-led campaigns, peer education, and school health programs to build tobacco resistance and prevent initiation. WHO urged its Member States to invest in disaggregated data collection, strengthen research on local tobacco trends and their determinants, and enhance the enforcement of tobacco control laws on the ground to close regulatory loopholes and stay ahead of evolving industry malpractices. The WHO says, Tobacco use not only kills prematurely -- it deepens poverty, damages the environment, and burdens families and health systems. This World No Tobacco Day is a call for vigilance and action. Let us work together to 'unmask the appeal' of tobacco in all its forms and reveal its true face: disease, death, and despair. Together, we can create a future where our children live free from the shadow of tobacco and enjoy healthier, longer lives. (ANI)
