COP9 - Angry vapers protest against the WHO

Introduction

Since its creation in 1948, the World Health Organization has not been able to curb the world's leading cause of preventable death. The electronic cigarette has been developing for nearly 15 years. Many positive testimonies and scientific studies now exist on its effectiveness. However, the WHO still refuses to include vape products in the arsenal of risk reduction tools. Worse still, it favours outright prohibition. Vapers will once again try to make themselves heard at the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which will be held virtually from the 8th to the 13th of November in Geneva. 

WHO's bad faith

Leaked documents from the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) suggest that it advocates treating reduced-risk products the same way as cigarettes or even banning them altogether. Short of a total ban, it would like to ban flavours, tax them and restrict their accessibility as much as possible. Such a denial policy in the face of 40 million vapers and all the scientific studies that now prove its effectiveness would deprive smokers of the best alternative for quitting smoking that exists on the market right now.

In the agenda of the Convention starting on November 8, the Secretariat has already announced that the latest report of the WHO Task Force on Tobacco Control will be handed over for information but will not be subject to discussion. These are postponed until the COP10 in 2 years. This is another example of how the WHO does not want to engage on this issue. 

And icing on the cake, in addition to the above restrictions, this report goes so far as to suggest a ban on open system devices (refillable tanks). So, to sum up: no more flavour choice, a premium price and only closed pods that make their consumers captives. This is an effective recipe for putting obstacles in the way of smokers who want to quit ! 

A hundred specialists to the rescue

A 100 independent experts in tobacco science, policy and nicotine have come together in a letter to the 182 signatory countries of the FCTC to urge them to encourage the WHO to support and promote the inclusion of risk reduction in the Framework Convention. They rightly argue that over the past decade, innovation in the nicotine market has meant that there are now many products that do not involve the burning of tobacco leaves and the inhalation of smoke. 

 “WHO is turning its back on a public health strategy that could prevent millions of smoking-related deaths.” 

These experts state that they have no conflict of interest and articulate their arguments based on some forty publications and scientific studies. They ask that the WHO stop using the emotional argument of youth addiction to demonise electronic cigarettes. Policy makers are right to be concerned about the increase in the use of e-cigarettes by young people, but a more in-depth analysis is needed. Indeed, a closer look reveals that vaping among most adolescents is uncommon, that nicotine use and dependence among novice tobacco users is rare, and that the most frequent use is concentrated among those who were already smokers. 

Mobilisation

For all the reasons mentioned above, various associations are calling for a protest on Sunday November 7 to try and make themselves heard. This is the case of the Smokers Rights Movement, which is organising free round-trip buses from Lyon, Zürich, Bern, and Milan. 

Their mission is to end tobacco deaths. “Banning addictive products never ends well - they must be replaced by better products. The only way to do that is to create a well-regulated market. We will urge national governments to do this now.”

If you also want to make your voice heard so that the WHO finally accepts to consider vape products as risk reduction tools, come to the Place des Nations on Sunday November 7th at 11am.