Good COP 2.0 Highlights the Contradiction Between Declining Smoking Rates and Health Institutions’ Rejection of Less Harmful Alternatives

In the context of the ongoing debate on tobacco control policies, the Good COP 2.0 conference, held in Geneva concurrently with the COP11 conference, discussing tobacco control, and organized by the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, featured a panel discussion titled “Where Is the Celebration? Why Do Anti-Smoking Groups Oppose Harm Reduction?”. The session highlighted the contradiction between the decline in smoking rates among young adults globally and the continued rejection of some health institutions to adopt harm-reduction policy solutions such as e-cigarettes and other smoke-free products. The session featured experts, specialists, and representatives from health organizations, who reviewed the most prominent current challenges and future trends in this field.

This session falls within the framework of the ongoing international discussion on the best ways to reduce the harms of tobacco, as Good COP 2.0 provides an opportunity to discuss health policies in an open and flexible manner, while highlighting global experiences, with the aim of providing scientific and practical insights that contribute to the development of effective strategies to reduce smoking and its risks.

In this context, Jeffrey Smith, Resident Senior Fellow, Integrated Harm Reduction at the R Street Institute (USA), presented his country’s experience in reducing smoking rates among young adults, explaining that the smoking rate among youth has fallen to only 1.7%, and that the implementation of the Tobacco 21 law, which set the minimum age for selling tobacco and nicotine products at 21, was a key factor in achieving this decline. He emphasized that retailers’ compliance with the law contributed significantly to the actual decline, adding, “Addiction is not in the substance itself, but in the negative consequences. I am personally dependent on caffeine… and my life has not been ruined because of it.”

From South Africa, Kurt Yeo, Co-Founder of Vaping Saved My Life (VSML) and Advisory Board Member at the World Vapers Alliance, presented a different perspective on the situation in the African continent, explaining that the available data is extremely limited. He noted that the last national survey included only 267 adolescents, yet this data is used to formulate national policies. Yeo added: “The political and media focus on ‘youth vaping’ distracts from the real crisis. Seventy percent of the cigarette market is illegal, yet legislation focuses on a very small percentage of young adults who vape.”

In presenting a model European experience, Bengt Wiberg, Director of the Swedish Nicotine Pouch Association, explained how Sweden succeeded in reducing the harms of tobacco. He pointed out that Sweden consumes similar levels of nicotine as the rest of Europe but simply does not smoke. He confirmed that daily smoking among Swedes does not exceed 4.5%, while rates of lung cancer and related diseases have decreased by 40–45%. Wiberg added: “The spread of alternative products such as nicotine pouches, snus, and vaping, along with tax adjustments that reflect the level of risk, have contributed significantly to this reduction.”

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The participants emphasized that data from the United States and the United Kingdom show an unprecedented decline in adolescent smoking, yet this achievement is not adequately celebrated, with the debate often focusing on alarming narratives about “youth vaping” rather than acknowledging the real public health improvement. They also pointed out that many objections to e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches stem from preconceived notions or institutional interests and are not based on scientific analysis.

The speakers stressed that criminalizing the use of alternative products deprives adults of the opportunity to quit traditional smoking, noting that real-world experiences in Sweden and the United States have proven that providing less harmful alternatives with diverse flavors and varying nicotine levels facilitates the switch from traditional smoking and increases the acceptance of these products, leading to a significant decline in daily smoking among young adults.

The session concluded by emphasizing the importance of redirecting the global discussion towards a scientific and objective approach to tobacco harm reduction policy, away from political pressures and economic interests, focusing on real results and achieved health improvements.

It is worth noting that these discussions are taking place within the events of Good COP 2.0, held alongside COP11 conference from 17 and 21 November 2025, seeking to highlight health policies aimed at tobacco control and harm reduction. This platform provides an important opportunity to assess the ability of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to keep pace with health and social changes and to enhance public health protection strategies at the internat

ional level.