Billionaire-driven tobacco policy against harm reduction in WHO dangerous for LMICs

Experts, consumer advocates and regulators at the "Good COP 2.0" conference warned that rigid, billionaire-driven prohibition policies against tobacco harm reduction (THR) are failing public health, fueling black markets and disproportionately harming lowand middle-income countries (LMICs).

- 

The "Good COP 2.0" conference, organized by the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) in counterpoint to the World Health Organization's (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11), highlighted a rising tide of resistance to the WHO's ban-heavy approach across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The TPA is organizing the rapid response and fact-checking conference in Geneva while the WHO FCTC meets for its biennial Conference of the Parties.

Speakers at Good COP 2.0 claimed the WHO's continued resistance to THR is failing public health, particularly in nations with limited health care infrastructure.

"Technology is moving very quickly, and regulators are struggling to keep up with the pace of innovation," said Prof. Tikki Pangestu, a visiting professor at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at National University of Singapore.

"We must reclaim the integrity of the evidence, and the evidence for harm reduction is far more rigorous than the 'science' supporting prohibition," said Nancy Loucas, executive-coordinator at Coalition of Asia Pacific Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA).