Consumers Sound Alarm as WHO COP11 Threatens Harm Reduction

Consumers Must Be Recognised, Not Sidelined GNW

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GENEVA, Oct. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The WHO’s upcoming COP11 meeting in Geneva is sparking fierce debate, as activists from the World Vapers’ Alliance project a clear message onto the venue: consumers must be recognised, not sidelined.

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Michael Landl, WVA Director, called the conference an echo chamber stuck in outdated, anti-science thinking that fails smokers. “Harm reduction isn’t a marketing ploy, it’s a public health necessity supported by hard data,” he said. “Consumers’ lives matter more than ideology or the views of wealthy WHO donors like Michael Bloomberg. It’s time consumers got a real seat at the table.”

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Delegates will soon decide policies that affect millions of smokers, yet those affected remain excluded. The WHO aims to enact bans on flavoured vaping, nicotine limits, heavy taxation, and further restrictions. These policies ignore evidence clearly showing vaping and nicotine pouches are far less harmful than cigarettes and effective quit aids.

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Liza Katsiashvili, Director of Operations of the WVA, warned that COP11 could become the moment tobacco control chose prohibition over progress: “Banning flavours won’t save lives; it sends smokers back to cigarettes. High taxes and bans only fuel black markets. The lessons from failed policies are clear. Delegates have a choice: listen to the facts or repeat costly mistakes.”

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The voices of consumers have long been shut out, replaced by ideologically driven groups with preset agendas. The WVA’s “Voices Unheard – Consumers Matter” campaign demands that governments change this closed process now, prioritising evidence and people over ideology as the tobacco control debate intensifies. COP11 will take place in Geneva from November 17 to 22.

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About the World Vapers’ Alliance:
The World Vapers’ Alliance amplifies the voices of vapers worldwide and promotes evidence-based regulation that supports harm reduction. The alliance works to ensure that the benefits of harm reduction are recognised globally, fighting for consumer rights and sensible policies grounded in science.

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