This statement was delivered by the World Heart Federation at the Eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Madame Chair,
Distinguished Delegates,
The World Heart Federation applauds Parties for reaffirming their commitments under Articles 5.2(b) and 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Tobacco cessation remains one of the most effective interventions to prevent and reduce tobacco consumption, nicotine addiction, and exposure to tobacco smoke.
The tobacco industry has a long history of systematic and deliberate interference in public health, science, and policymaking, consistently prioritizing profits over human lives. In recent years, it has sought to create harmful controversy and perpetuate nicotine addiction through misleading health claims, industry-funded research, and its so-called “harm reduction” narrative.
Independent research shows that newer tobacco and nicotine products have limited effectiveness for cessation outside controlled settings. Evidence also indicates that heated tobacco products and electronic nicotine delivery systems are associated with increased risks of cardiovascular disease and other health harms. To date, medications listed on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines remain the most effective pharmacological treatments for cessation, with well-established long-term safety and protocols proven to achieve tobacco and nicotine abstinence.
There is a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco industry’s interest and public health policy interest.
WHF urges all Parties and stakeholders to reject the tobacco industry’s “harm reduction” narrative and fully implement the Framework Convention, ensuring real, genuine, progress towards reducing tobacco-related harm.
Thank you.
