Market & legal data for global tobacco and nicotine alternatives worldwide

19th March 2025: Global: The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) on the international plastics treaty, which was supposed to be the last one (held in Busan, South Korea, and closed on 1st December 2024), has been split into two parts. The main goal was to finalise the text of an international legally binding instrument on plastics pollution. During the previous session (INC-4) in Ottawa, Canada, several countries urged for a ban on cigarette filters to be included in the treaty – a call that was also supported by the World Health Organization. Action on Smoking & Health (ASH) US, an independent public health charity, reported that in December 2024 it was announced that the consensus on the text was not reached and that negotiations would continue during a subsequent session. A revised draft text was also released, with cigarette filters made of plastic remaining in an optional annex. The second part of the fifth session (INC-5.2) is scheduled to take place from 5th to 14th August 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland.
2nd December 2024: Global: The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) on the international plastics treaty, which was supposed to be the last one, was held in Busan, South Korea, and closed yesterday, 1st December. The main goal was to finalise the text of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. During the previous session of INC-4 in Ottawa, Canada, several countries urged for a ban on cigarette filters to be included in the treaty – a call that was also supported by the World Health Organization. Action on Smoking & Health (ASH) US, an independent public health charity, reported that yesterday it was announced that consensus on the text was not reached and that negotiations would continue at a subsequent session, the date of which will be announced later. A revised draft text was also released, with cigarette filters made of plastic remaining in an optional annex.
29th November 2024: Global: The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) on the international plastics treaty is currently taking place in Busan, South Korea, and will run until 1st December. The main goal is to finalise the text of an international legally binding instrument on plastics pollution. During the previous session of INC-4 in Ottawa, Canada, several countries urged for a ban on cigarette filters to be included in the treaty – a call that was also supported by the World Health Organization.
14th November 2024: Global: The World Health Organization (WHO) 2025 World No Tobacco Day campaign, “Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing Industry Tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products”, will focus on revealing tactics these industries use to make products more attractive, especially to children. The campaign will highlight what it calls “Glamorized Marketing”, “Deceptive Designs”, and “Coolants and Additives” that enhance product appeal and hinder quitting efforts. The WHO recommends banning flavours, enforcing comprehensive advertising bans, and regulating product design and packaging to reduce appeal.
14th October 2024: Global: International E-waste Day is celebrated today (14th October). The yearly awareness-raising day initiated by the WEEE Forum – an international association of organisations of electronics manufacturers and importers – aims to highlight the growing issue of e-waste and promote responsible e-waste management. Products with electrical or electronic components, including vaping or heated tobacco devices with batteries, should be part of the recycling stream. This year’s slogan, “Join the e-waste hunt – retrieve, recycle, and revive!” highlights the importance of addressing the unused electronics stored in homes, which often contain valuable materials that can be recycled and given a new purpose.
10th June 2024: Global: The World Health Organization (WHO) has made public the dates in which the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the fourth session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP4) to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products will take place. COP11 will take place during the week of 17th November 2025 at the Geneva International Conference Centre, while the MOP4 will be held during the week of 24th November 2025 at the WHO headquarters in Geneva.
31st May 2024: Global: Today, as every year on 31st May, is World No Tobacco Day. The focus of this year’s campaign is tobacco companies’ tactics to target under-age consumers, in particular through the use of social media campaigns and influencers, and their greenwashing tactics. The World Health Organization (WHO) has posted: “37m youth aged 13-15 use tobacco globally. This World No Tobacco Day, it is time to speak out and step in!” The WHO has published a report “on how tobacco targets youth to cash in profits, creating a new wave of addiction”.
27th May 2024: Global: The focus of this year’s World Health Organization (WHO) World No Tobacco Day (31st May) is to “give a platform to young people across the world, who are urging governments to shield them from predatory tobacco marketing tactics”. It goes on to say that “the industry targets youth for a lifetime of profits, creating a new wave of addiction. Children are using e-cigarettes at rates higher than adults in all regions and globally an estimated 37m youth aged 13 to 15 years use tobacco.”
24th May 2024: Global: Yesterday (23rd May), the World Health Organization (WHO) released a new report “highlighting how the tobacco and nicotine industry designs products, implements marketing campaigns and works to shape policy environments to help them addict the world’s youth”. The report says the tobacco and nicotine industry uses enticing flavours, colourful designs and marketing strategies as an attempt to addict young people. During the report’s press release, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, in relation to the harm-reduction argument: “how can they talk about harm reduction when they are marketing these dangerous, highly addictive products to children”. The WHO urges governments to ban or tightly regulate novel tobacco and nicotine products. Tight measures include banning flavours, banning their advertising and higher taxes, among others.
6th May 2024: Global: At the recent meeting of the Fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) to develop an international treaty on ending plastic pollution, held in Ottawa, countries made progress in identifying the types of plastics that should be prohibited globally, media reports. Among the items that topped the list were cigarette filters. At the meeting, Peru, Panama, and Switzerland urged for a ban on cigarette filters, a call which was also supported by the World Health Organization. It was stated that recycling cigarette filters is not a viable solution, and it is essential to focus on human rights and demand a healthy environment. The list of plastics to be banned will be finalised at INC-5, starting 25th November 2024, in Busan, South Korea.
25th April 2024: EU: Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe issued a media release saying that e-cigarette use is becoming increasingly popular among adolescents. The organisation draws attention to the fact that e-cigarettes have surpassed conventional cigarettes in popularity among 15-year-olds, and that this “calls for targeted interventions to address this emerging public health concern”. The WHO also calls for the urgent implementation of several measures on nicotine and tobacco products: increasing excise taxes; limiting available retail channels; banning all flavour agents, including menthol and synthetic menthol analogues; and enforcing a comprehensive ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship on mainstream and social media.
14th February 2024: Global: The tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) has recently concluded with a decision to protect the environment and people's health from the harmful effects of tobacco. Parties have been asked to consider the environmental impacts of tobacco products and to improve the implementation of related policies for environmental protection. This includes the problem of cigarette (and presumably heated tobacco) filters, which can release plastic and harmful chemicals. In addition, COP10 has made more robust guidelines for tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.

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