The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) has worked in secret to block new technologies that reduce the risk of using tobacco products and thereby save lives, according to a newly released study.

The body behind the World Health Organisation’s tobacco control treaty has singularly pursued a “quit or die” strategy, states a summary of the report by the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank in the US.
“It is thus highly skeptical of the potential for new technologies, such as vape devices, to reduce smoking, has raised concerns about the safety of these new products, and has advocated regulations that would restrict access. Just last week, the FCTC Secretariat issued a report, commissioned in secret from unknown authors, which argues that the marketing of vape products should be heavily regulated,” the foundation said.
Authored by Deepak Lal, professor of economics at UCLA and Julian Morris, vice president at Reason Foundation, the study criticizes past FCTC practise of excluding observers, including journalists, from its meetings. It notes the FCTC lists only 20 non-government organisations as observers on its website, in contrast to more than 2,000 for the WHO pact on climate change.
More people smoke today than did 11 years ago when the FCTC came into effect, the study says. “The FCTC has not so far proven to be a stellar success on its own terms,” Morris said.