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Tag: CAPHRA

  • Maldives Warned Generational Ban Fraught with Problems

    Maldives Warned Generational Ban Fraught with Problems

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) responded to the Maldives’ proposed generational smoking ban, recognizing its public health intent but warning that prohibition without harm-reduction will likely repeat the mistakes of past tobacco control efforts. 

    The bill, submitted to Parliament in April, would prohibit tobacco sales to anyone born on or after 1 January 2007, making it the first generational smoking ban in the Asia-Pacific region. CAPHRA acknowledged the ambition behind the move, but cautioned that such prohibition, without offering safer alternatives, risks driving tobacco use underground and failing to reduce smoking rates. 

    “The Maldives’ proposal shows a willingness to try new approaches, but history tells us prohibition alone does not work,” Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of CAPHRA, said. “When safer alternatives like vaping are banned, as in the Maldives since 2024, smokers are left with few options, and illicit markets thrive. We have seen similar outcomes in Australia and Denmark, where bans failed to reduce harm and instead fueled black markets.” 

    CAPHRA pointed to New Zealand’s abandoned generational ban and Malaysia’s stalled proposals as evidence “that such policies often create more problems than they solve.” The Maldives’ data shows a 38% increase in illicit tobacco trade since recent bans and tax hikes, while youth smoking remains high.

    “If the Maldives is serious about reducing smoking, it must look beyond age-based bans,” Loucas said. “Evidence from the UK and New Zealand demonstrates that regulated access to safer nicotine products, combined with education and support, delivers real progress. Prohibition without harm reduction simply pushes people toward unregulated and unsafe options.” 

  • CAPHRA Says Vaping Misinformation has Deadly Consequences

    CAPHRA Says Vaping Misinformation has Deadly Consequences

    Today (May 12), the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) released a critical position statement warning that misinformation about safer nicotine products is putting millions of lives at risk and undermining global public health efforts. 

    “CAPHRA’s analysis revealed that persistent anti-vaping propaganda, often promoted by influential health bodies, is drowning out mounting scientific evidence supporting tobacco harm reduction,” CAPHRA said in a statement. “Countries such as the UK and New Zealand, which have embraced evidence-based approaches, are seeing significant declines in smoking rates, yet much of the world remains gripped by outdated ideology.” 

    “The scale of misinformation about safer nicotine products is staggering and deliberate,” said Clarisse Virgino, CAPHRA Philippine Representative. “It is costing lives by discouraging smokers from switching to less harmful alternatives. Ideological opposition is being prioritized over science, and the public is paying the price.” 

    CAPHRA’s statement said that despite robust evidence showing vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking, global health agencies continue to mislead the public about the risks. CAPHRA executive Coordinator Nancy Loucas criticized the World Health Organization for “ignoring the science and silencing consumer voices,” arguing that this approach perpetuates the deadly smoking epidemic. 

    CAPHRA is calling on governments and health authorities to embrace transparency and evidence, and to recognize harm reduction as a vital tool in the fight against smoking-related disease. “We need pragmatic solutions, not ideological warfare. The stakes are simply too high,” Loucas said. 

     Access the full position paper here. 

  • CAPHRA Urges Malaysia to Reject Vape Bans 

    CAPHRA Urges Malaysia to Reject Vape Bans 

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) today (April 28) urged Malaysian authorities to reject “counterproductive bans” on vaping and adopt risk-proportionate regulations, citing the World Health Organization’s (WHO) persistent neglect of harm reduction strategies as a key driver of preventable smoking-related deaths. 

    The call comes as Malaysia faces pressure to tighten vaping controls under the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852), with state-level bans and stricter nicotine limits threatening progress. CAPHRA warns that such measures risk replicating failed prohibitions in Bhutan and South Africa, where bans fuel illicit markets and health risks. 

    “Enforcing stricter controls on high-risk products over safer alternatives is better than outright bans,” Universiti Kebangsaan Malasia professor Dr. Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh said. “Malaysia must differentiate between combustible cigarettes and harm reduction tools.” 

    CAPHRA criticized the WHO, saying it ignores vaping’s role in smoking cessation. Despite Malaysia’s illicit tobacco trade dominating 55.3% of the market in 2023, WHO projects smoking rates will rise to 30% by 2025, contrasting sharply with Sweden’s 5% rate achieved through harm reduction. 

    “We firmly believe that an outright ban on vape products is counterproductive and could lead to unintended consequences, including the proliferation of black market activities,” Samsul Arrifin Kamal of MOVE Malaysia said. “The solution lies in implementing stricter controls, risk-proportionate regulations, and robust enforcement mechanisms. By establishing clear guidelines for the production, sale, and use of vape products, we can ensure consumer safety.” 

  • CAPHRA Urges COP11 Attendees to Shift View on Harm Reduction 

    CAPHRA Urges COP11 Attendees to Shift View on Harm Reduction 

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) today (March 31) urged global tobacco control policymakers to abandon outdated prohibitionist approaches and embrace harm reduction strategies grounded in science.  

    Ahead of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control’s (FCTC) COP11 meeting later this year, CAPHRA emphasized that meaningful progress requires inclusion, transparency, and a commitment to evidence-based policymaking. 

    Despite decades of tobacco control efforts, global smoking rates have stagnated at 1.1 billion smokers since 2000. CAPHRA attributes this failure to the FCTC’s refusal to engage with harm reduction strategies or include consumer organizations in its decision-making processes. 

    “The FCTC’s ‘quit or die’ approach has failed. It’s time for a mindset shift that prioritizes science over ideology and inclusion over exclusion,” Nancy Loucas, CAPHRA Executive Coordinator, said. “Consumer organizations like CAPHRA represent millions who have successfully transitioned to safer alternatives—our lived experiences must inform policy. 

    “COP11 presents an opportunity for the WHO FCTC to finally grant observer status to consumer advocacy groups. Without the voices of those directly impacted by tobacco harm reduction strategies, policymaking remains disconnected from reality. The secrecy surrounding COP meetings undermines trust and progress. Hosting open consultations with civil society during proceedings would ensure accountability and bring much-needed balance to global tobacco control discussions.” 

  • CAPHRA Continues Criticism of WHO’s Funding, Procedures

    CAPHRA Continues Criticism of WHO’s Funding, Procedures

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) today (March 24) condemned the World Health Organization (WHO) for dismissing its recent scrutiny of the WHO’s funding as “misinformation,” when it said it allows billionaire philanthropies to disproportionately influence global tobacco policy.

    “The WHO’s hypocrisy is staggering, it attacks critics as purveyors of ‘misinformation’ while allowing private donors like the Gates Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies to steer its agenda,” said Nancy Loucas, CAPHRA Executive Coordinator.  

    CAPHRA said Euronews confirmed that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is WHO’s second-largest donor, contributing 12% of its total budget, and that Bloomberg Philanthropies has funded anti-harm reduction campaigns in Asia-Pacific nations, including the Philippines and India. 

    CAPHRA accuses the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) COP meetings of operating “under unprecedented secrecy compared to other UN conventions. No consumer group representing smokers or ex-smokers has ever been granted observer status, violating the WHO’s own guidelines for civil society engagement.” A 2023 WHO Western Pacific Office report emphasized that “meaningful engagement of civil society” is critical to tobacco control—a principle CAPHRA says is ignored by the FCTC. 

    CAPHRA also says internal documents reveal the FCTC Secretariat controls all COP agendas and materials, with Bloomberg-funded NGOs often drafting policy recommendations for low-income countries, creating an echo chamber that excludes scientific evidence supporting safer nicotine alternatives. 

    “When billionaires dictate policy while the WHO silences consumer voices, public health becomes secondary to ideology,” Loucas stated. “The FCTC’s failure is undeniable—global smoking rates remain unchanged since 2000, with 1.1 billion smokers worldwide. We demand the WHO FCTC grant observer status to consumer groups at COP11, host open consultations with civil society during proceedings, and implement UN human rights oversight for tobacco control policies. Accountability and inclusion are non-negotiable. The WHO must prioritize science over dogma to save lives.”   

  • CAPHRA Backs Evidence That Vaping Could Save Thousands of Thai Lives 

    CAPHRA Backs Evidence That Vaping Could Save Thousands of Thai Lives 

     The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) today (March 19) endorsed compelling evidence presented by Asa Saligupta, Director of ENDs Cigarette Smoke Thailand, highlighting the life-saving potential of vaping as an alternative to deadly combustible cigarettes. 

    The Bangkok Post has revealed a stark public health contradiction: while smoking cigarettes is blamed for 71,000 Thai deaths annually, there has not been a single recorded death from e-cigarette use in Thailand. Yet conventional cigarettes remain widely available while vaping products remain prohibited. 

    “The evidence from Thailand mirrors what we’ve seen across the Asia-Pacific region—policies driven by misinformation rather than science are costing lives,” said Nancy Loucas, CAPHRA Executive Coordinator. “When Public Health England concluded that vaping is approximately 95% safer than smoking cigarettes, they provided a scientific foundation that many countries have used to develop sensible harm reduction policies.” 

    CAPHRA acknowledges concerns regarding youth access but emphasizes that proper regulation—not prohibition—is the appropriate solution. “We support restrictions on marketing to young people, but banning products that could save millions of adult smokers from premature death is neither,” Loucas said. “Thailand stands at a crossroads. It can continue its failed prohibition approach, or it can join the growing number of countries following scientific evidence to implement sensible regulations that will save countless lives.”

  • CAPHRA Accuses “Foreign Billionaires” of Influencing Tobacco Policies

    CAPHRA Accuses “Foreign Billionaires” of Influencing Tobacco Policies

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) today (March 10) called for greater transparency in global tobacco control governance, citing evidence of external influence in domestic policymaking across Asia-Pacific. The organization has documented patterns suggesting Bloomberg Philanthropies has exercised inappropriate influence over tobacco harm reduction policies in the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Vietnam. 

    Nancy Loucas, CAPHRA’s Executive Coordinator, expressed concern with what the organization perceives as ideologically driven approaches. “When foreign billionaires shape national health policies through strategic funding while excluding regional experts, we must question whether public health remains the priority,” Loucas said. “Our investigations reveal instances where domestic policies appear directly influenced by external funding priorities rather than evidence-based approaches.” 

    In February 2025, CAPHRA joined with ARDT Iberoamerica, and CASA Africa in requesting clarification from the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Harm Reduction regarding comments in their report on tobacco harm reduction. The coalition received no response. 

    “The continued silence from the Special Rapporteur underscores a pattern of dismissing stakeholder concerns when they don’t align with predetermined positions,” Loucas said. 

    CAPHRA highlighted the upcoming COP11 as a critical moment for reasserting national sovereignty in tobacco control policy, emphasizing countries that have implemented progressive harm reduction frameworks—such as the Philippines, Japan, and New Zealand. 

     “It’s time to hold global public health institutions to their core mission of protecting health based on science rather than ideology,” Loucas said. 

  • FCTC Slammed for Self-Congratulatory Approach

    FCTC Slammed for Self-Congratulatory Approach

    Last week, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) – one of the biggest United Nations treaties in history – celebrated its 20th anniversary with WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calling tobacco a plague on humanity.

    “Over the past two decades … global tobacco use prevalence has dropped by one-third,” he said. “The WHO FCTC has helped to save millions of lives through strengthened tobacco control measures around the world.”

    Not everyone was impressed, however, as today the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) condemned the FCTC for “celebrating institutional achievements whilst millions across the Asia Pacific region continue to die from preventable smoking-related diseases.”  

    “The FCTC’s self-congratulatory approach is deeply offensive to communities devastated by preventable tobacco deaths,” said Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA. “While they celebrate incremental victories, over one billion people globally continue smoking, with the majority in low and middle-income countries across our region. Their refusal to acknowledge harm reduction alternatives is costing countless lives.” 

    CAPHRA said that despite mounting evidence supporting tobacco harm reduction, the FCTC continues to marginalize consumer advocates while maintaining policies that deny smokers access to potentially life-saving alternatives. The FCTC systematically excludes these voices from policy deliberations, dismissing their lived experiences and denying others who smoke in Asia the opportunity to access reduced harm alternatives.  

     “The FCTC’s unwillingness to evolve in the face of overwhelming evidence amounts to a human rights issue,” Loucas said. “By reducing tobacco harm reduction to an industry construct, the FCTC effectively sentences millions to preventable suffering.” 

    CAPHRA is calling on delegates of the upcoming COP11 meeting to “adopt risk-proportionate regulations that distinguish safer alternatives from deadly combustible products, subject FCTC policies to UN human rights oversight, and acknowledge the successes of countries who have embraced tobacco harm reduction in their public health policies that confirms the scientific consensus on safer nicotine products as critical harm reduction tools.” 

  • CAPHRA Wants WHO to Embrace Consumer Voices

    CAPHRA Wants WHO to Embrace Consumer Voices

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) demanded the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) end its exclusion of consumer organizations and adopt evidence-based tobacco harm reduction (THR) as a vital public health strategy ahead of its COP11 meeting.

    CAPHRA called on COP11 delegates to grant formal observer status to consumer groups, adopt risk-proportionate regulations distinguishing safer products from cigarettes, and subject WHO FCTC policies to United Nations human rights oversight.

    “The WHO must evolve. Consumer advocates are not the enemy—they’re the bridge to pragmatic solutions and essential partners in reducing smoking-related harm,” said Nancy Loucas, CAPHRA Executive Coordinator. “COP11 must prioritize transparency and science over ideology. Lives hang in the balance.”

    CAPHRA pointed to New Zealand’s progressive vaping policies that have helped the adult smoking rate drop below 6% in 2024 and Japan’s adoption of heated tobacco products have also driven smoking rates to record lows. Conversely, Australia’s prohibitionist approach has fueled a thriving black market for unregulated vaping products, exposing consumers to greater risks.

    “The WHO’s refusal to engage with consumer groups—those most directly affected by its policies—undermines global public health,” said Loucas. “By silencing consumer voices and dismissing safer alternatives, they prioritize ideology over science, costing lives.”

  • CAPHRA Urges End to Vape Disinformation

    CAPHRA Urges End to Vape Disinformation

    Vapor Voice archives

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) states that as it celebrates World Vape Day on May 30, 2024, the organization is urging global leaders to recognize the life-saving potential of safer nicotine products and to expose the ongoing disinformation campaign led by the World Health Organization (WHO). 

    “Despite overwhelming scientific evidence supporting the reduced risk of vaping compared to combustible tobacco products, the WHO continues to ignore the facts and mislead the public,” said Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of CAPHRA. “These products, including e-cigarettes, snus, and heated tobacco products (HTPs), offer a viable alternative for millions of smokers seeking to reduce their health risks.

    “The GSTHR reports have shown that these alternatives are not only effective in reducing harm but also play a significant role in public health by providing accessible and acceptable options for smokers worldwide.”

    CAPHRA has criticized the WHO’s exclusionary tactics, particularly at the 10th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10). By excluding consumer groups and harm reduction advocates, the WHO has demonstrated a blatant disregard for the voices of those directly impacted by tobacco use, according to an emailed press release.

    “One of the most egregious aspects of the WHO’s stance is its use of children as pawns to propagate the false narrative that vaping is not a tobacco harm reduction product,” said Loucas. “This disinformation campaign not only undermines the credibility of harm reduction efforts but also jeopardizes the health of millions of adult smokers who could benefit from switching to safer alternatives.”

    CAPHRA is calling on all vaping industry stakeholders, including policymakers, public health officials, and the media, to recognize the truth about tobacco harm reduction. The release states that it is time to challenge the disinformation spread by the WHO and advocate for evidence-based policies that prioritize the health and well-being of smokers worldwide.

    “It’s time for the WHO and FCTC to listen to consumers and integrate harm reduction into their policies. Only then can we tackle both the public health crisis of smoking and the escalating illicit tobacco trade,” said Loucas. “The WHO’s stance not only ignores the evidence supporting these strategies but also undermines the global fight against the tobacco epidemic.”