Last week, the World Health Organization’s flagship tobacco control conference, COP11, took place in Geneva. It was meant to be a defining moment in the global campaign against nicotine. Instead, it became a moment of reckoning.

Rather than solidifying global support for bans on vaping and other reduced-risk products, the WHO was met with growing resistance. A diverse group of countries, including Saint Kitts and Nevis, New Zealand, Serbia, Mozambique, and Gambia, stood up and demanded a shift: from ideological restrictions to evidence-based, flexible regulation that respects national realities.

For years, the WHO and its network of donor-backed NGOs have fought to position harm reduction as a threat rather than a solution. Despite overwhelming evidence from countries like Sweden, where smoking rates are below 6% thanks to products like vaping and nicotine pouches, the WHO doubled down on abstinence-only messaging.

But this year, the narrative cracked. Instead of pushing through recommendations for bans as expected, COP11 ended with watered-down, non-binding language. All measures related to vaping and similar products were postponed until the next meeting in two years due to the resistance of these countries.

St. Kitts and Nevis emerged as one of the leading voices, delivering one of the strongest statements of the week, which called for harm reduction to be recognised as a legitimate public health strategy and urged delegates to differentiate science from ideology. Their call resonated widely, gaining support across delegations.

This shift matters for Trinidad & Tobago, which is currently reassessing its own approach to regulating less harmful nicotine alternatives. The country now has the opportunity to choose science over fear and lead the Caribbean into a new era of public health, along with St. Kitts and Nevis.

Lessons for Trinidad & Tobago

Thousands of Trinidadians still smoke, and cigarettes continue to claim lives. The rise of vaping and other less harmful alternatives offers a real opportunity to change that, but only if regulated proportionately to their relative risk profiles.

Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh recently acknowledged the need for updated legislation and committed to a data-gathering phase on nicotine products. This is a good first step, but this must go further. The government must recognize the scientific facts that vaping, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products are vastly less harmful than smoking. Consequently, these products require distinct regulations and should not be treated as cigarettes. Reduced harm should translate into lower taxes and more proportionate rules.

One of the most compelling lessons from COP11 is that Caribbean countries don’t need to follow the script written in Geneva. St. Kitts and Nevis showed that small nations can speak boldly and be heard. Trinidad & Tobago should join them.

Together, the region can push for a framework that supports smokers in switching to less harmful alternatives, reduces health inequalities, and promotes transparency in public health policymaking. We cannot afford to let this moment pass us by.

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