By Ayomide Otitoju
The Eleventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) concluded in Geneva on November 22, 2025, with 160 Parties adopting critical measures to strengthen global tobacco control. The six-day meeting, held from November 17–22, focused on combating the global tobacco epidemic and its environmental impact.
Key decisions addressed tobacco control and environmental protection, sustainable funding, forward-looking control measures, and tobacco industry liability.
“These important decisions will save millions of lives and protect the planet from the environmental harms of tobacco,” said Andrew Black, Acting Head of the WHO FCTC Secretariat. “The FCTC remains a milestone for public health and international cooperation.”
The COP11 highlighted the environmental damage caused by tobacco products, including the trillions of cigarette butts containing plastic filters that leach harmful chemicals. Parties were invited to consider comprehensive regulatory measures for tobacco and nicotine product components to reduce environmental harm while safeguarding public health.
Decisions were also adopted on domestic resource mobilization to ensure sustainable funding for national tobacco control programmes and on strengthening implementation of Article 19 of the FCTC, which addresses civil and criminal liability of the tobacco industry. Forward-looking measures under Article 2.1, which encourage countries to go beyond minimum treaty requirements, were also discussed.
Notably, Parties approved a complete ban on the use and sale of tobacco products, including heated tobacco, ENDS/ENNDS, nicotine pouches, and disposable e-cigarettes, across all United Nations premises worldwide. Measures to prevent nicotine addiction and protect tobacco control policies from industry interference were reinforced, particularly under Article 5.3, which shields governments from commercial influence.
COP11 recorded a record attendance of over 1,600 delegates, including government representatives, NGOs, and youth observers, who also participated in side events addressing key issues under the Convention.
The Twelfth Session of the COP and the Fifth Meeting of Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products will be hosted in Yerevan, Armenia, in 2027.
