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Tag: Taxpayers Protection Alliance

  • FCTC Deserves Criticism, Not Celebration, Says TPA

    FCTC Deserves Criticism, Not Celebration, Says TPA

    As the World Health Organization (WHO) marks the 20th anniversary of its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), a panel hosted by the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) used the occasion to reflect on what they called decades of stagnation, missed opportunities, and dangerous resistance to innovation in the field of tobacco harm reduction.

    “The FCTC should have marked a turning point in global tobacco control,” said Clive Bates, former director of Action on Smoking and Health (UK). “Instead, the WHO remains entrenched in outdated, prohibition-style thinking. They actively oppose safer alternatives like vaping, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches—tools that are demonstrably helping people quit smoking.”

    Panelists argued that the WHO’s refusal to embrace harm-reduction approaches is not just short-sighted but scientifically indefensible. Many urged countries participating in the treaty to reconsider their blind alignment with WHO policy and instead focus on pragmatic, evidence-based strategies that prioritize public health outcomes.

    “Whether it’s COVID-19 or tobacco policy, the WHO has failed repeatedly,” Roger Bate, a global health policy expert at the International Center for Law and Economics said. “We need fundamental reform. If the organization cannot evolve to incorporate modern science and real-world solutions, then it risks becoming obsolete.”

    David Williams, president of TPA, echoed this sentiment, calling the WHO’s current approach “dangerous and irresponsible.” He cited the organization’s refusal to recognize smoke-free alternatives, even as mounting research shows their effectiveness in reducing harm. “E-cigarettes and nicotine pouches are saving lives,” Williams said. “These are tools funded by taxpayers, yet the WHO continues to reject them without sound justification. That’s not just bad policy—it’s negligence.”

    Williams also promoted TPA’s global campaign, Good COP/Bad COP, which launched during the 2024 FCTC COP10 meeting in Panama. A follow-up event is planned for 2025 in Geneva, aimed at holding the WHO accountable. “We’re building a coalition of doctors, consumers, and advocates who want the WHO to work for the people, not against them,” he said.

    Martin Cullip, international fellow at TPA’s Consumer Center, summed up the panel’s frustration. “The FCTC was a good idea that has gone terribly wrong. We’ve lost 20 years of potential progress because of rigid ideology.”

    The panel urged WHO leaders to abandon a dogmatic stance and embrace harm reduction as a key component of tobacco control moving forward. As Clive Bates concluded, “The WHO has become unethical, unaccountable, and ineffective. If they truly care about saving lives, they must stop ignoring the science. Harm reduction has to be part of the solution.”

  • Taxpayer Group Files Amicus Brief

    Taxpayer Group Files Amicus Brief

    Image: hafakot

    The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) submitted an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Wages and White Lion Investments case, challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of e-cigarettes under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA). The TPA argues that the FDA’s actions have been arbitrary, capricious and detrimental to public health.

    The brief contends that the TCA’s standard for determining what is “appropriate for the protection of the public health” is unconstitutionally vague, providing insufficient guidance to regulated entities and delegating excessive authority to the FDA. This vagueness has led to unpredictable enforcement, adversely affecting both taxpayers and adults who smoke and are seeking safer alternatives to conventional cigarettes.

    Furthermore, the TPA criticizes the FDA for failing to recognize the significant benefits of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool, as acknowledged by leading health organizations such as Public Health England. According to the TPA, the TCA is clear on the need for the FDA to consider the impact of e-cigarettes on smoking cessation, yet the agency has abjectly failed to undertake this analysis. The TPA highlights the FDA’s stringent regulatory approach and high denial rates for new e-cigarette products, which the group says stifle market diversity and limit consumer choice, particularly harming adults who smoke and who might benefit from less harmful alternatives.

    The TPA also notes the FDA’s disregard for market realities and consumer preferences, particularly the benefits of open-system e-cigarettes that allow for customization and have been shown to be more effective for quitting smoking.

    The TPA urges the Supreme Court to uphold the 5th Circuit’s decision, affirming that the FDA’s regulatory approach under the TCA is arbitrary and capricious and violates due process. The TPA calls for a regulatory framework that adequately considers the benefits of e-cigarettes and gives regulated parties fair notice of how their products will be evaluated.

  • Taxpayers Group Holds ‘Counter COP’

    Taxpayers Group Holds ‘Counter COP’

    Photo: TPA

    Concurrent with the 10the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which takes place in Panama City this week, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is hosting an event at the Central Hotel Panama under the name “Good Cop/Bad Cop.” The event will be livestreamed on TPA’s YouTube channel.

    Good COP will feature nearly two dozen tobacco harm reduction experts, representing 14 different countries and highlighting some of the leading experts on consumer issues, national and global policies, and the science surrounding harm reduction.

    Throughout the event, TPA and the Good COP participants will be monitoring the WHO’s meeting and providing running commentary via livestreams, media interviews, blogs, and social media.

    “The taxpayer-funded WHO ignores science and puts billions of smokers at risk of not having access to life-saving technology to quit smoking,” said TPA’s President, David William in a statement.

    “The participants of Good COP will hold the WHO accountable for denying life-saving access to tobacco harm reduction products and denying access to the public and media to these meetings. “In real time, harm reduction experts from around the globe will be fact-checking and providing commentary on the WHO’s anti-science agenda at COP10.”