{"id":8900,"date":"2025-11-26T07:59:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T06:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/?p=8900"},"modified":"2025-12-09T11:33:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T10:33:20","slug":"cop11-dysfunction-over-harm-reduction-reveals-who-in-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/en\/cop11-dysfunction-over-harm-reduction-reveals-who-in-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"COP11: Dysfunction over harm reduction reveals WHO \u2018in crisis\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With the WHO COP11 meetings in Geneva now over, Snusforumet catches up with Patrik Str\u00f6mer of the Association of Swedish Snus Manufacturers for an analysis of what happened, why, and what it means for tobacco and nicotine regulation moving forward.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parties gathered in Geneva for COP11 ultimately failed to agree on calling for an outright ban on nicotine pouche<\/a>s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But leaked documents from the meetings<\/a> revealed a concerted effort by the European Commission, with the Danish EU presidency, and other parties to push for language that would have paved the way for a ban on nicotine pouches<\/a> and other products less harmful than cigarettes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Patrik Str\u00f6mer, Secretary General of the Association of Swedish Snus Manufacturers, is relieved that a ban was avoided, he believes that a ban was even up for discussion is a sign of how dysfunctional the FCTC<\/a> has become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRather than using the meetings as an opportunity to learn from countries that have actually succeeded in reducing smoking, the FCTC now focuses solely on ideology and dogma,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is a major failure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COP11: criticizing success, rewarding failure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Str\u00f6mer points to New Zealand, where a tobacco harm reduction approach has helped cut smoking by more than half to 6.9 percent. Daily smoking among young people in New Zealand is now just 3 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince 2019, smoking rates have declined more rapidly in association with the implementation of tobacco harm reduction measures,\u201d New Zealand\u2019s COP11 representative shared during one of the plenary sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA new generation is growing up smoke-free.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But instead of receiving praise for the achievement, New Zealand received the \u201cDirty Ashtray<\/a>\u201d award from the Global Alliance on Tobacco Control (GATC)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denying facts, awarding obedience <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, Sweden\u2019s strides towards smoke-free status thanks to access to non-combustible alternatives was vilified rather than celebrated at an official COP11 side event<\/a> where anti-nicotine NGOs were given center stage, while consumer advocacy organisations were shut out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s totally bizarre that organizations like the Swedish Cancer Fund<\/a> and A Non Smoking Generation<\/a> show up for the sole purpose of hiding the truth about Sweden\u2019s success in harm reduction,\u201d says Str\u00f6mer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don’t have to like that Swedes smoke so little thanks to snus, but it\u2019s dishonest to deny the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Str\u00f6mer emphasized he is happy to discuss the matter with representatives of the organisations anytime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had this standing offer for years but never gotten a response, so I\u2019m not going to hold my breath this time either,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Mexico – which has a daily smoking rate roughly three times higher than Sweden \u2013 was honoured by the GATC with its \u201cOrchid Award<\/a>\u201d for \u201cdelivering one of the most powerful and uncompromising statements against the tobacco industry\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom the outside, the discussion is weird. At COP11, I guess saying the right things rather than actual results is what counts,\u201d Str\u00f6mer laments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s absurd that they hand out awards for being obedient rather than for what actually saves lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pouches banned from all UN facilities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That COP11 ended without agreement on a wider ban on nicotine pouches means the \u201cfield is open\u201d when it comes to next steps in the EU\u2019s ongoing effort to update its own tobacco regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHalf of the member states have already regulated nicotine pouches, so countries in favour of an EU-wide ban are the minority,\u201d Str\u00f6mer explains<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s worth pointing out that countries with bans are also less successful in reducing smoking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He sees little prospect of the COP11 outcomes affecting regulatory discussions in Sweden, where daily smoking rates are already around 5 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he\u2019s curious to see what impact the COP11 decision to ban nicotine pouches and other products from all United Nations facilities<\/a> might have on Swedish civil servants working for UN bodies around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have to imagine more than a handful of Swedish diplomats are fretting about what this means for them – and why their colleagues at negotiations in Geneva didn\u2019t firmly oppose what is largely a symbolic move that will have little practical impact on the fight against smoking,\u201d he says<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COP12: more ideology and repression?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As he looks ahead to COP12, set to take place in 2027 in Yerevan, Armenia, Str\u00f6mer is pessimistic that the WHO\u2019s FCTC can be a positive force in helping the world\u2019s more than one billion smokers kick the deadly habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe WHO is an organisation in crisis that lacks connection to the real world when it comes to tobacco policy,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt this point, the FCTC had devolved into a forum for irrelevant discussions where nothing is really about reducing smoking. It\u2019s all about ideology and repression rather than achieving meaningful results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the WHO COP11 meetings in Geneva now over, Snusforumet catches up with Patrik Str\u00f6mer of the Association of Swedish Snus Manufacturers for an analysis…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[254],"tags":[616,349,356,251,444,273,248,331],"class_list":["post-8900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinions","tag-cop11","tag-european-commission","tag-fctc","tag-harm-reduction-2","tag-new-zealand","tag-nicotine-pouches","tag-patrik-stromer-en","tag-who-2"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCOP11: Dysfunction over harm reduction reveals WHO \u2018in crisis\u2019 - Snusforumet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With the WHO COP11 meetings in Geneva now over, Patrik Str\u00f6mer looks at what happened, why, and what it means for nicotine regulation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/en\/cop11-dysfunction-over-harm-reduction-reveals-who-in-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COP11: Dysfunction over harm reduction reveals WHO \u2018in crisis\u2019 - 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