The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – the biggest anti-vaping treaty you’ve never heard of

Most people are pretty ambivalent when it comes to international affairs. Usually they think that the highest authority of the land is the federal government and that’s that. But this isn’t always the case. Countries try to work together across borders to take action on issues such as the Paris Agreement to coordinate a global response to climate change. Others are through international bodies like the World Trade Organization where trade disputes between countries can be settled. 

These all seem fairly par the course but one international organization is much more malignant with its intention. The World Health Organization is the unknown source of frustration for vapers worldwide. You’re probably more aware of them now because of their awful handling of the COVID-19 outbreak but the WHO’s sinister treaty on tobacco control is something most have never heard of. 

What is the FCTC?

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control or FCTC as it is regularly referred too is a 2004 international treaty with the intention to “end the tobacco epidemic”. You’ll sometimes hear it referenced in submissions or in hearings or see it written into laws, “to give effect to obligations under the FCTC”. 

While all well and good to try and stop people smoking, it’s implementation is particularly cruel. This is where excessively high taxes on cigarettes and other nasty ideas originate from. 

While the FCTC is an international agreement, most of it isn’t binding on the countries that have signed up. But that doesn’t stop NGO’s like cancer, lung or heart societies or health departments themselves from pretending that it does and misrepresenting how it works. 

Every two years the FCTC countries and all their associated hangers on get together for a global meeting to decide what they’re going to do next. These meetings are called the Conference of Parties (COP) and the 9th meeting will be in The Hague in November 2020. The event is called COP9. 

Why does the WHO hate vaping?

Make no mistake about it, the WHO hates vaping. And it hates harm reduction. They don’t care if you’ve quit smoking by vaping. From its ivory tower in Geneva, they want vaping banned everywhere and if they can’t get it banned they want it regulated so heavily that it’s basically treated like cigarettes. 

Why are they doing this? Well there’s lots of speculation about Billionaire presidential candidates calling the shots, or pharmaceutical companies lobbying against e-cigarettes to protect their profits on poorly performing nicotine patches and gums. Others theories are that the WHO just hates tobacco companies so much it’s willing to let a billion people die just to just to keep the products off shelves. It’s hard to tell because the WHO’s COP meetings are all conducted in secret. The public and media aren’t allowed in and are removed from every meeting. It’s completely closeted like a cult and you’re only allowed in if you know the secret handshake. 

How does the FCTC and the WHO influence vaping?

The WHO works hard to spread lies and mistruths about vaping, presenting them as facts. Like these ones on their website that they had to quickly change after an uproar about the lies in the original. Then their pawns in public health agencies go and repeat those lies in the media and lobby the government to ban vaping. The justification to ban vaping? Because the WHO advises this is the best course of action to take of course. The WHO wouldn’t lie about health policy? And sadly many members of government take the advice at face value (despite major criticisms). 

While many doctors and academics make the case daily about harm reduction and how smokers should have access to a better alternative, journalists can fall easily into the trap and just parrot quotes from supposedly respectable public health bodies that continue to reinforce the narrative that vaping is dangerous. All this is built upon lies and deceit emanating from the WHO. 

The WHO has a long history of being against vaping. The Q&A on their website was published on Twitter to its 7.4 million followers promoting flagrantly wrong information. In 2017 a tobacco advisor for the WHO encouraged countries to follow North Korea’s example and ban e-cigarettes entirely. The WHO even tells countries to ban vaping as a first option and if it can’t then to heavily regulate in its regional action plans.

Why is 2020 important? 

At COP9 this year in The Hague there are going to be some very important decisions made about vaping. We know that the WHO is lobbying countries to ban e-cigarettes altogether and if they won’t, then to regulate them as cigarettes. If they don’t get them banned, they want them in plain packaging with massive taxes applied to them. This is evident in our part of the world where the WHO strategy is explicitly calling for this. 

In November our Government will go to the COP meeting and vote in favour or against proposals to kill off vaping. And currently they’re inclined too because the WHO pawns control the narrative. The result is then ‘new reports’ and ‘new agreements’ that becomes new ‘advice’ from the WHO and the cycle continues. 

The worst part is that you’ll never know how your country voted. Decisions are made in secret and journalists are forcibly removed. You don’t know what country representatives are voting on or how they voted or even if they consulted with their Minister. Unelected bureaucrats you’ve never voted for, completely divorced from the concerns of vapers are making decisions about you. Just as the WHO wants. 

What you can do about it?

Given the importance of this year’s COP meeting it’s entirely reasonable that we know what position the government is going to take, and how they will vote. We can demand to know what the decisions they are going to vote on how they intend to vote. These decisions shouldn’t be made in secrecy, the government should be clear and transparent about its intentions. 

It’s important that you connect and stay in the loop with Legalise Vaping and encourage other vapers to be in the loop too. With people power we can achieve great change and ensure all smokers have proper and fair access to these lifesaving products. Stay tuned for more.