A co-architect of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global tobacco treaty, alongside a prominent taxpayers’ group, has criticized the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) for allegedly neglecting its public health mandate by resisting scientific advances and blocking technological innovations that could help end smoking.
Dr. Derek Yach, a public health expert and former WHO director, and Martin Cullip, international fellow of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA), claimed that the FCTC has shifted away from its original goal by dismissing the potential of lower-risk nicotine alternatives. These include vapes, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches.
During a TPA-organized webinar, Yach said the FCTC has stagnated and failed to adapt to emerging technologies supporting smoking cessation through reduced-risk products.
“The FCTC was born in a moment of bold innovation—when the world prioritized access to HIV/AIDS treatments that went on to save millions,” Yach said.
“Unfortunately, the FCTC has not kept pace with scientific progress. Its outdated framework overlooks the potential of industry-driven innovations that are already contributing to significant reductions in smoking-related harm,” he said.
Cullip agreed, saying the FCTC is increasingly focused on restricting these reduced-risk alternatives instead of using them to mitigate smoking-related harm among the more than 1 billion global tobacco users.
“The FCTC was designed to reduce smoking-related harm on a global scale. However, its increasing resistance to reduced-risk nicotine products suggests it has strayed from its original public health mandate. The concerns raised by one of its founders should prompt serious reflection,” Cullip said.
Critics, including the TPA, contend that the WHO’s implementation of the FCTC prioritizes restrictive measures while sidelining empirical data and consumer engagement.
They appealed to the WHO to adopt a more evidence-driven approach by incorporating harm reduction into the FCTC’s policy framework ahead of the Eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 17 to 22, 2025.
Roger Bate, a fellow of the International Center for Law and Economics, suggested the FCTC has become a “cautionary model for global public-health governance.” He argues it has evolved into a process that excludes scientific dissent and marginalizes consumer-driven harm reduction.
Key recommendations for reform include greater openness in COP processes, the integration of robust comparative data on harm reduction, and strategic engagement with nations skeptical of WHO’s centralized governance.
“Where the FCTC once represented open coordination, its current posture resembles a closed orthodoxy,” Bate writes.
