Tobacco Harm Reduction: The Industry’s Latest Trojan Horse?

Every two years, Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a global treaty to reduce tobacco use, gather at the Conference of the Parties (COP) to discuss effective implementation of the treaty.

Although the tobacco industry is banned from participating in COP10, allies and others promoting the industry’s interests often try to influence policy discussions.

In 2024, these groups relied on the tobacco harm reduction angle to argue for looser regulations of newer tobacco and nicotine products, like e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products—despite strong concern from public health officials about youth uptake of these devices. While industry links can be easy to spot, other organizations’ funding is opaque, sometimes making it hard to determine if Big Tobacco is behind these arguments. Learn more about expected tactics and how governments can reject them.