A group of independent experts in nicotine science and policy have written an open letter to the World Health Organisation (WHO) ahead of a global tobacco control meeting, reports news.com.au.

More than 100 experts from around the world have signed the open letter and called upon the WHO to stop its “prohibitionist” anti-vaping policy. According to news.com.au, the letter is addressed to the Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) ahead of the ninth Conference of Parties starting on 8 November. It states that the WHO is being “dismissive of the potential to transform the tobacco market from high-risk to low-risk products” and that “WHO is rejecting a public health strategy that could avoid millions of smoking-related deaths.”
According to one of the signatories, Dr Colin Mendelsohn, founding chair of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association, the WHO has been running a prohibitionist campaign against tobacco harm reduction despite the fact that tobacco harm reduction is part of its official policy in the FCTC, reports news.com.au. He says that especially low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are affected by the WHO’s stance on vaping.
“This will lead to more death and suffering from smoking, especially in LMICs where most smoking deaths already occur,” Dr Mendelsohn said.
The WHO recently reaffirmed its opposition to e-cigarettes claiming they were a risk to children and youths who were more likely to get hooked on the products.
“And as cigarette sales have fallen, tobacco companies have been aggressively marketing new products – like e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco products – and lobbied governments to limit their regulation. Their goal is simple – to hook another generation on nicotine. We can’t let that happen,” said Michael Bloomberg, the WHO’s Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries.