Geneva, 22 October — The Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is alerting governments and the public that the tobacco industry is intensifying efforts to interfere with the work of the Conference of the Parties (COP), the treaty’s decision-making body, to weaken global tobacco control measures.
The WHO FCTC is the first treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO and one of the most widely and rapidly embraced United Nations treaties in history. A total of 183 Parties have joined the Convention, which entered into force 20 years ago.
The Eleventh session of the COP, which will be held from 17-22 November in Geneva, Switzerland, will bring together Parties to the Convention to take the decisions necessary to work towards achieving the objectives of the WHO FCTC, including the discussion of measures to prevent nicotine addiction, and for the protection of the environment and human health, among others.
The Meeting of the Parties (MOP), which will take place in Geneva, Switzerland from 24-26 November, serves as the governing body of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products—an international treaty that entered into force in 2018 and has 71 Parties. At the MOP, Parties will consider a range of measures aimed at shaping the future of the Protocol and its role in eliminating illicit trade in tobacco products.
“With strategies varying from lobbying to outright attempts to manipulate delegations, the tobacco industry’s tactics are a cause for serious concern,” said Andrew Black, Acting Head of the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC.
“This is not just lobbying; it is a deliberate strategy to try to derail consensus and weaken measures to further the treaty’s implementation. Tobacco industry interference is one of the biggest constraints and barriers to the implementation of the Convention. The Secretariat strongly urges Parties, civil society and other stakeholders working to support tobacco control to remain vigilant against the industry’s tactics and misinformation. Governments have obligations under the WHO FCTC to fully implement Article 5.3, requiring the protection of public health policies from the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.”
Evidence from independent civil society actors, including those that are observers to the Conference of the Parties, shows the industry’s interference includes:
- Political capture: Attempting to place sympathetic actors in national delegations or influence their selection to sway negotiations.
- Front groups and “independent” voices: Industry-funded organisations posing as trade, science, or consumer groups to lobby delegations.
- Co-opting science: Sponsoring or promoting misleading research to cast doubt on proven tobacco control measures.
- Economic narratives: Pressuring finance and trade ministries with misleading claims about jobs, farming, and tax revenues.
- Access infiltration: Attempting to gain observer status or participate in COP-related events to influence discussions.
These tactics mirror those documented in the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, which reports on tobacco industry interference globally.
The WHO FCTC Secretariat urges all Parties to:
- Fully implement Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC and its Guidelines for implementation, covering all branches of government from tobacco industry influence.
- Protect COP from the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in line with Objective 3.1.3 of the Global Strategy to Accelerate Tobacco Control: Advancing sustainable development through the implementation of the WHO FCTC 2019-2030, including during the preparation of country delegations.
- Ensure their COP and MOP delegations do not include tobacco industry or tobacco industry-affiliated persons.
- Reject any industry-linked funding or partnerships, including for COP and MOP activities or national delegations.
- Educate non-health ministries on industry tactics and Article 5.3 obligations.
- Use available monitoring tools like the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index to detect interference.
