Regulatory short-cut sought

Delegates at the eighth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP8) to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), have recommended regulating heat-not-burn products in the same way as combustible cigarettes are regulated, according to an Agence France Presse story relayed by the TMA.
COP8 was held in Geneva on October 1-6.
Such regulation would ban the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of heat-not-burn products, which many people see as providing effective, safer alternatives to combustible cigarettes.
The recommendation is not legally binding and will serve only as a guideline.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands is due to host the COP9 meeting in 2020, according to a report in the NL Times, relayed by the TMA and citing a WHO announcement made at the closing ceremony of COP8.
The Netherlands’ State Secretary of Public Health, Wellbeing and Sports Paul Blokhuis took the initiative to bring the conference to the Netherlands.
Reportedly, he is considering Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague or Utrecht to host the conference.
“Around two hundred countries and organizations come together at this conference to curb the tobacco industry’s influence, to discourage smoking worldwide and, for example, to limit the damage of tobacco to the environment as much as possible”, Blokhuis said.
“It is very good news that we are the next host country. That also brings the smoke-free generation one step closer. Both in the Netherlands and globally.”