Geneva, 30 October 2025 – The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) projected a clear message onto the COP11 venue: consumers matter, and harm reduction through vaping and nicotine pouches must be recognised, not banned behind bureaucratic walls. COP11, the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, will take place in Geneva from November 17 to 22.

Michael Landl, Director of the WVA, said: “COP has become an echo chamber for outdated, anti-science policies stuck in the past. They are locked in old thinking, unfit for the future of tobacco control. Harm reduction is not a marketing gimmick; it is a public health necessity backed by science and real-world data. And consumers’ lives matter more than ideology and the opinions of wealthy WHO donors like Michael Bloomberg. That is why they must get a seat at the table.”

In just a few weeks, COP11 delegates will decide the fate of millions of smokers, but those most affected are shut out. While citizens have no say, the WHO and its close partners plan to implement sweeping bans and harsh restrictions that disregard decades of evidence on smoke-free alternatives.

Liza Katsiashvili, Director of Operations of the WVA, added: “COP11 could go down as the moment the tobacco control community chose prohibition over progress. Banning flavours won’t protect anyone; it’ll send smokers straight back to cigarettes. Heavy taxes and outright bans drive people to the black market. We’ve seen these policies fail wherever they’ve been tried. Delegates now face a choice: learn from fact, or keep repeating the same costly mistakes.”

WVA’s “Voices Unheard – Consumers Matter” campaign pushes for consumer voices in global tobacco policy. For years, experts and consumers have shown that the WHO excludes consumer perspectives and scientific evidence, while welcoming groups with predetermined agendas. This is not public health policy-making; it’s a closed process with predetermined outcomes. Governments must act now to change that.