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Tag: WHO

  • NYT Claims Industry Influence Weakened WHO Declaration

    The New York Times published an article yesterday (September 24) highlighting how the World Health Organization’s final declaration on chronic diseases has been weakened compared to earlier drafts, and attributes those changes to corporate lobbying from tobacco, alcohol, and beverage companies.

    “Gone was the language calling for graphic health warnings on cigarette packs,” the article says. “Gone, too, were the recommendations for so-called health taxes to discourage smoking and the consumption of alcohol and sugar-sweetened drinks. The final document contains no mention of sugary beverages, a key culprit in the rising rates of childhood obesity that affects 35 million children under 5 years old.”

    Catherine Egbe, a senior scientist at the South African Medical Research Council, attributes the removal of plain packaging and graphic health warnings is due partly to industry opposition.

    When the language is strong and watertight, it helps countries do better,” she said. “But when the language is weak, it sends the message that ‘you can do what you want’ and leaves vulnerable populations at the mercy of industry.”

  • CAPHRA Slams WHO Over Barriers to COP11 Participation

    CAPHRA Slams WHO Over Barriers to COP11 Participation

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) criticized the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) for imposing what it calls “insane” registration requirements for the upcoming COP11 in Geneva. Executive Coordinator Nancy Loucas said the late opening of registration, coupled with onerous demands for personal documentation, a letter of intent, a full CV, and a declaration of zero tobacco funding, is deliberately designed to exclude consumer advocacy groups and harm reduction voices. Despite the FCTC being in place for two decades, not a single consumer group has ever been granted observer status, while only 26 NGOs have been approved overall, far fewer than in comparable UN forums such as climate negotiations.

    CAPHRA said the WHO’s restrictive interpretation of Article 5.3 has been weaponized to silence stakeholders, including people who smoke or use safer nicotine products. Proceedings remain closed to the media and the public, with no live streaming or meaningful transparency, a practice Loucas calls fundamentally undemocratic. CAPHRA is urging reform to allow full and fair participation, stressing that genuine tobacco harm reduction requires including the very consumers most affected by global policy decisions.

  • WHO Report Links Tobacco Use to Child Stunting

    WHO Report Links Tobacco Use to Child Stunting

    The World Health Organization (WHO) published a new report warning that tobacco use plays a significant role in child stunting, a condition that affects nearly 150 million children worldwide, particularly in Africa and Asia. Stunting increases the risk of disease, delayed development, and early death. The document, the 11th in WHO’s tobacco knowledge summary series, is aimed at health professionals, policymakers, and public health advocates.

    WHO said that maternal smoking during pregnancy is strongly linked to preterm birth, low birth weight, and restricted fetal growth, all major predictors of stunting by age 2. Children exposed to second-hand smoke are also at higher risk, it said, with evidence showing that the harm intensifies with the level of exposure. By contrast, quitting smoking during pregnancy improves growth outcomes, reducing the risk of stunting.

    The organization is urging governments to strengthen tobacco control policies in line with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and MPOWER measures. WHO stressed that reducing tobacco exposure is critical to improving survival, growth, and development, and to achieving global health goals.

  • CAPHRA Challenges WHO’s Tobacco Control Approach

    CAPHRA Challenges WHO’s Tobacco Control Approach

    A new Shadow Report from the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) criticizes the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global tobacco control strategy for neglecting harm reduction — a key component of the WHO’s own Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). CAPHRA’s report argues that countries strictly following WHO’s MPOWER measures, like Thailand and India, have seen only limited declines in smoking, while nations adopting harm reduction tools, such as vaping, have achieved greater success. It cites the UK, Japan, New Zealand, and Canada as leading examples.

    With over 1 billion smokers worldwide, CAPHRA calls for “practical, science-based solutions” to replace abstinence-only approaches. The group also condemns the exclusion of harm reduction advocates from policy discussions under FCTC Article 5.3.

    “This is a call to action,” the report states. “We must replace moralistic dogma with practical solutions. It is time to make smoking — the deadliest form of tobacco use — public enemy No. 1, and to deploy harm reduction as a frontline strategy.”

  • Uganda Ups Cigarette Taxes

    Uganda Ups Cigarette Taxes

    Uganda increased excise duties on cigarettes, raising taxes on soft cap products from Shs 55,000 ($15.40) to Shs 65,000 ($18.20) per 1,000 sticks, and on hinge lid cigarettes from Shs 80,000 ($22.40) to Shs 90,000 ($25.20). For non-East African Community imports, the rates doubled to Shs 150,000 ($42) and Shs 200,000 ($56), respectively.

    The tax hike came just before the announcement of the World Health Organization’s “3 by 35” initiative, where it urged all nations to increase real prices on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks by at least 50% by 2035 to combat rising rates of noncommunicable diseas-es such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

    Uganda’s Ministry of Finance said its move aims to reduce tobacco consumption, protect public health, and raise revenue for healthcare and development.

  • EU Trying to Stop “Tobacco Tourism”

    EU Trying to Stop “Tobacco Tourism”

    As the European Commission considers sweeping tobacco tax reform aimed at narrowing price gaps across the continent, high-income countries like Luxembourg would be hit hardest, RTL Today, Luxembourg’s main television channel, reported. The reform would be meant to deliver a major blow to “tobacco tourism.”

    Most of Luxembourg’s €1.4 billion in 2024 tobacco tax revenue came from foreign buyers, with less than 5% of the tobacco sold in the nation consumed locally. Currently, packs of cigarettes in Luxembourg cost less than €6, far below prices in neighboring France (€13) and the Netherlands (€10), attracting cross-border shoppers and smugglers.

    Though not yet formalized, the WHO’s calls for price hikes on harmful products by 2035 would raise Luxembourg’s prices €3.50 per pack of cigarettes, or 60%. RTL Today said Luxembourg’s Finance Ministry is monitoring the situation.

  • WHO Wants Pakistan to Raise Cigarette Taxes

    WHO Wants Pakistan to Raise Cigarette Taxes

    The World Health Organization (WHO) criticized Pakistan’s Federal Cabinet’s decision to keep its Federal Excise Duty (FED) on cigarettes unchanged in the 2025–26 budget, saying it will likely boost consumption and undermine public health. According to a WHO analysis, FED rates haven’t increased since February 2023, while inflation has surged 26%, resulting in declining real prices and even greater affordability.

    For fiscal year 2024–25, WHO estimated cigarette production in Pakistan reached 37 billion sticks, generating Rs 208 billion ($728 million) in FED revenue. With excise duty unchanged, cigarette output is projected to rise to 38 billion sticks in 2025–26, yielding Rs 217.6 billion ($762 million) in revenue.

    WHO says a Rs 39 ($0.14) per pack FED increase would reduce smoking by 10.7%, lower production to approximately 34 billion sticks, and increase revenues by 20.9%.

  • WCTC Gets Protestors Wanting Input

    WCTC Gets Protestors Wanting Input

    On the opening day of the World Conference on Tobacco Control (WCTC) in Dublin, the World Vapers’ Alliance staged a silent protest outside the venue, visually highlighting the exclusion of consumers from global tobacco and nicotine policy debates. Demonstrators with their mouths taped symbolized the ongoing marginalization of those most affected by regulatory decisions.

    The protest is part of the “Voices Unheard—Consumers Matter!” campaign, launched as delegates gathered inside to discuss the future of tobacco control without meaningful input from the consumers who are most impacted by these policies.

    Michael Landl, Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, said outdated, ideologically driven policies, often influenced by powerful interests like Michael Bloomberg, threaten to reverse progress in reducing smoking rates. “Safer nicotine alternatives have the potential to save millions of lives, but only if they are supported by sensible, evidence-based regulation. We cannot afford to let ideology stand in the way of real progress,” he said.

    The campaign comes at a time when the World Health Organization is pushing for sweeping bans on flavored nicotine products, including e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches. Such measures would remove vital tools from adults seeking to quit smoking and could drive many back to combustible tobacco.

  • Kyrgyz Health Minister Proposes Raising Tobacco Taxes

    Kyrgyz Health Minister Proposes Raising Tobacco Taxes

    Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Health, Erkin Checheybayev, proposed raising excise taxes on tobacco products as part of a broader effort to improve public health, particularly among the country’s youth. Roughly 22% of adults in Kyrgyzstan smoke.

    Earlier this week, a delegation from the WHO FCTC Knowledge Hub met with Checheybayev to present the TETSiM simulation model, an analytical tool demonstrating how raising excise taxes can both reduce tobacco consumption and increase government revenue. The discussion focused on strategies to reduce tobacco affordability and consumption through effective taxation measures. “Despite the public health burden, Kyrgyzstan’s current tobacco excise tax remains below 50% of the retail price of cigarettes, significantly lower than the WHO-recommended threshold of 75% or more,” The Times of Central Asia said. 

  • Pakistan Increases Tobacco Tax 240%

    Pakistan Increases Tobacco Tax 240%

    With cigarette manufacturers in Pakistan already pointing to an excessive Federal Excise Duty (FED) as a reason for a significant decrease in sales and a rising black market, the federal government announced it is imposing a 6% withholding tax on cigarette distributors in the 2025-26 budget, senior sources told ProPakistani. This will be an increase from the previous 2.5% rate.

    The provision for withholding tax rates under Section 153 of the Income Tax Ordinance will be changed to charge the new tax on the gross amount of payment received by distributors when they hand over cigarette sticks to retailers.

    It was previously reported that Pakistan’s government was facing pressure from the World Health Organization to increase its FED further.