WHO doubles down on tough line against e-cigarettes ahead of global tobacco conference

The World Health Organisation has sharpened its rhetoric on e-cigarettes ahead of next week’s global tobacco control summit, warning of “mounting evidence of harm” and calling for tougher restrictions on vaping and nicotine pouches.

Speaking in the run-up to the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said e-cigs are often marketed as lower-risk alternatives but “there is no evidence of their net benefit for public health”.

The comments come as the WHO published its first global estimate of e-cigarette use, suggesting more than 100 million people vape worldwide – including at least 15 million young people aged 13–15. The organisation claims “aggressive marketing” and youth-appealing flavours are driving what it calls an “alarming rise in use among children”.

For the UK vape industry – operating within one of the most tightly regulated markets in the world – the tone from Geneva lands at a critical moment, with the recent disposable ban, retail age-of-sale reforms and ongoing debates about flavours and packaging. Industry groups have long argued that UK policy should continue to differentiate between combustible tobacco and far-less-harmful alternatives, but WHO officials strongly rejected harm-reduction narratives this week.

Benn McGrady, who leads the WHO’s public health law and policy unit, said tobacco and nicotine companies were “lobbying like crazy” and seeking to position vapes as benign consumer products. He claimed features such as bright colours and sweet flavours remain “specifically attractive to children”, and accused brands of exploiting social-media spaces “where young people shape their identities”.

Focus on cigarette filters

COP11 will also consider measures on the environmental impact of traditional tobacco products, particularly cigarette filters. Andrew Black, acting head of the FCTC secretariat, said plastic filters are “the world’s most littered item” and offer smokers “no meaningful safety benefit”.

Around 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are discarded annually, breaking down into microplastics and leaching toxic chemicals into waterways. “It is high time to ban those plastics,” added Rudiger Krech, the WHO’s environment and climate chief.

The gathering, to be held in Geneva from 17–22 November, will also revisit longstanding FCTC priorities such as smoke-free laws, taxation and anti-smuggling measures. More than 180 countries have ratified the treaty since it came into force in 2005.

The landmark treaty brought in a package of tobacco control measures, including picture warnings on cigarette packets, smoke-free laws and increased taxes.