Consumers protest WHO-Bloomberg's 'war on harm reduction'

The World Vapers' Alliance (WVA) has criticized the World Health Organization (WHO) for sidelining consumers and allowing influential figures such as US billionaire Michael Bloomberg to push prohibitionist policies that limit less harmful options for smokers.

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The WVA launched its "Voices Unheard - Consumers Matter!" campaign ahead of the World Conference on Tobacco Control (WCTC) in Dublin. The campaign aims to highlight that consumers are being excluded from global tobacco and nicotine policy discussions.

In the Philippines, consumer groups such as Vaper Ako, the Philippine counterpart of WVA, and Consumer Choice Philippines, claimed the WHO and the Bloomberg Foundation are collaborating to restrict consumer choices regarding nicotine products.

Vaper Ako spokesman Joaqui Gallardo said the prohibitionist policies dictated by the WHO and the Bloomberg Foundation "alienate smokers, deprive them of their rights to less harmful products and demonize the nicotine industry, which could fuel the underground market," citing evidence from the Philippines.

Gallardo noted that smoking prevalence in the Philippines has risen in recent years after nearly a decade of stagnation. This increase follows a surge in illicit cigarette and vape trade, with products sold at prices significantly lower than legal alternatives due to high tax rates.