The 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), held in Geneva from 17th to 22nd November, concluded with no firm outcome on the future of nicotine alternatives, a result that guarantees policy uncertainty will persist until the next conference in two years.
While the conference achieved key decisions in traditional tobacco control, the inability to reach a global consensus on the regulation of novel products – such as e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches – was the defining outcome. This failure was significantly exacerbated by internal political divisions, specifically the collapse of the European Union’s common negotiating position.
