Consumers protest WHO-Bloomberg's 'war on harm reduction'
Published Jul 12, 2025 01:01 pm
The World Vapers' Alliance (WVA) has criticized the World Health Organization (WHO)
for sidelining consumers and allowing influential figures such as US billionaire Michael
Bloomberg to push prohibitionist policies that limit less harmful options for smokers.
The WVA launched its "Voices Unheard - Consumers Matter!" campaign ahead of the
World Conference on Tobacco Control (WCTC) in Dublin. The campaign aims to
highlight that consumers are being excluded from global tobacco and nicotine policy
discussions.
In the Philippines, consumer groups such as Vaper Ako, the Philippine counterpart of
WVA, and Consumer Choice Philippines, claimed the WHO and the Bloomberg
Foundation are collaborating to restrict consumer choices regarding nicotine products.
Vaper Ako spokesman Joaqui Gallardo said the prohibitionist policies dictated by the
WHO and the Bloomberg Foundation “alienate smokers, deprive them of their rights to
less harmful products and demonize the nicotine industry, which could fuel the
underground market,” citing evidence from the Philippines.
Gallardo noted that smoking prevalence in the Philippines has risen in recent years after
nearly a decade of stagnation. This increase follows a surge in illicit cigarette and vape
trade, with products sold at prices significantly lower than legal alternatives due to high
tax rates.
"Nicotine is not the problem, but how it is consumed," said Gallardo. "By removing
smoke in nicotine consumption, there is a dramatic decrease in exposure to toxicant
chemicals. Consumers should be given choices between cigarettes and less harmful,
smoke-free products."
Adolph Ilas, chairman of Consumer Choice Philippines, said restrictive policies on
alternative products would worsen the smoking epidemic. He said that while the WHO
and Bloomberg Foundation agree that a ban on smoking would exacerbate the problem,
“they push a blanket ban on less harmful nicotine products such as vapes, heated
tobacco and nicotine pouches, which have proven successful in helping millions of
smokers quit in countries such as Sweden, the United Kingdom and Japan."
Ilas called for the acceptance of tobacco harm reduction as a better public health
strategy to address the global smoking problem. "This is why it is important for
consumers to be heard and become a part of the global discussion," Ilas said.
With the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11) in Geneva approaching, the WVA
campaign cites the need for consumer representation in policymaking. While experts
and officials discuss regulations behind closed doors, a WVA light show in Dublin
symbolized the voices of adults who have quit smoking with safer alternatives but
remain unheard in policy debates.
Michael Landl, director of the WVA, slammed the influence of powerful figures like
Bloomberg, whose support for prohibitionist policies often disregards consumer
perspectives. "Policymakers must listen to those whose lives are directly impacted by
these decisions. Evidence, not ideology or the influence of wealthy donors, should
guide regulations,” Landl said.
The protest comes amid growing concerns over the WHO's aggressive stance against
harm reduction. Such measures risk undermining the progress made by millions of
adults who have successfully transitioned away from combustible cigarettes using safer
alternatives, the WVA said.
"Safer nicotine alternatives save lives, but only with sensible, evidence-based
regulation. Consumers must be included in the conversation. Outdated, dogmatic
tobacco control policies, which stubbornly ignore the potential of harm reduction, are
holding back public health progress," said Alberto Gómez Hernández, policy and
advocacy manager for the WVA.
The WVA calls for genuine consumer inclusion in tobacco control policy, evidence-
based harm reduction and an end to the marginalization of those who stand to benefit
most from progressive, life-saving measures as COP11 in Geneva approaches.