FCTC principles abandoned for ideology
The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) condemns the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Secretariat for permitting Bloomberg-funded prohibitionist NGOs to dictate policy narratives at COP11, directly contradicting the treaty’s foundational principles.
The “Dirty Ashtray Award” presented to New Zealand exposes a fundamental corruption of the FCTC process. The Secretariat has allowed ideologically-driven NGOs to write unaccountable rules, then shame countries refusing compliance with a prohibitionist script disconnected from real-world health outcomes.
This has nothing to do with saving lives. It is about control.
New Zealand’s smoking rate of 6.8 per cent – one of the world’s lowest – proves harm reduction works. Yet the country faces international mockery for empowering smokers with evidence-based alternatives. Meanwhile, nations with double New Zealand’s smoking prevalence receive praise for rhetoric alone.
The latest youth data released on 30 November 2025 demonstrates New Zealand’s nuanced success. Youth vaping rates have halved since their 2021 peak, with daily vaping among Year 10 students dropping to 7.1 per cent from 10.1 per cent in 2022. Critically, youth daily smoking is now “negligible” at just 1 per cent – a generational achievement led by comprehensive harm reduction policy. Emeritus Professor Robert Beaglehole of Action on Smoking and Health declared this “a major global success which we should be celebrating … we are leading the way.”
Yet the award ignores this nuance. New Zealand balances adult smoker support with youth protection through regulated access to vaping, disposal bans, retail restrictions, and increased penalties for selling to minors – penalties rising from $5,000 to $10,000 for individuals and $10,000 to $100,000 for corporations as of December 2024.
Supporting countries at COP11 – including Canada, Sweden, Germany, Serbia, and others championing transparency, consumer engagement, and science-based policy – demonstrate the treaty has strayed from its purpose. These delegations recognise what the FCTC Secretariat refuses: countries must develop policies suited to their specific contexts and populations.
CAPHRA Executive Coordinator Nancy Loucas condemned the authoritarian approach. “The suggestion that any country or advocate supporting harm reduction must be aligned with industry is unacceptable. It shuts down legitimate scientific discussion. Public health decisions should be based on evidence, not ideological purity tests.”
The chart of COP11 positions reveals stark divisions. New Zealand, Serbia, Albania, Guinea-Bissau, North Macedonia, Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis demand transparency and inclusion. Canada, New Zealand, and Sweden engage consumers and lived experience. Germany, Sweden, and New Zealand champion independent science showing pouches 99 per cent less harmful than cigarettes.
Yet the FCTC Secretariat permits NGOs to frame harm reduction as an “industry tool,” ignoring independent research and real health gains closing health equity gaps for Māori and Pacific communities.
CAPHRA demands the FCTC Secretariat enforce treaty obligations. The FCTC exists for countries to develop policies for their situations – not for NGOs to enforce ideological conformity.
Loucas added: “Not all products carry the same risk, and not all countries face the same challenges. Treating every viewpoint that is not prohibition as suspicious makes it impossible to design effective, proportionate policies. Innovation, updated evidence, and diverse contexts must guide public health – not Bloomberg’s agenda.”
With eight million tobacco deaths annually, the time for accountability is now. The FCTC must choose: serve public health or serve prohibitionist gatekeepers.