The Advocates Voice

This month, 181 countries, plus the European Union will be sending delegations to attend the FCTC Conference of Parties to discuss global Tobacco Control.  In documents released by the Secretariat, we know that there will be pressure on these delegations to accept new definitions and interpretations of articles 1d, 5.2b, and 5.3 that will directly impact consumers of safer nicotine products.

There is an ongoing culture war between Western interests and Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) as it relates to Tobacco Control. Countries in Asia,  such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Vietnam have implemented bans of safer nicotine products with the policy guidance and support of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids - a US NGO funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.   Meanwhile, in Malaysia, there is a push, no doubt under the auspices of similar “guidance” to implement similar policies.  These efforts have ramped up in the lead to the FCTC CoP 11 in November this year.

Welcome back to The Advocates Voice for 2025.  As we approach the FCTC CoP 11 being held this November in Geneva,things have been heating up. .   There is no doubt  the WHO will ramp up their anti e-cig  stance   ….  and the same old lies.Clampdowns- misinformation- and attacks on tobacco harm reduction are sure to continue.This episode focuses on Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand.

In this episode we explore the situation in Australia and the evolving situation in the United Kingdom. Draconian "regulations" or De Facto Ban? Language Warning. We let you hear from the people directly impacted.

2023 WrapUp and what we are looking forward to in 2024 in the THR space.

CoP 10 was a win for harm reduction for the most part. Countries stood up for harm reduction & didn’t allow a prohibitionist agenda to be railroaded through. But what exactly is going on and who is the captain of the FCTC ship?

The months before an FCTC CoP meeting is always filled with activity, as the parties to the treaty prepare and consumers finalise activities to get the message to delegates and the public that Harm Reduction is an intrinsic part of the treaty. In this episode: CAPHRA Shadow Report on the (non) implementation of Article 1D of the FCTC Letter to Volker Turk, Director of UNCHR, from 52 consumer organisations about the Right to Health. Consumer Panel at GTNF in Seoul, South Korea Asia Harm Reduction Forum Highlights

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Rohan Sequiera about the WHO's plans to redefine "smoke" and the implications that has not only for his patients, but for all of us in the "bigger picture".

In this livestream we will go over the information provided and discussions from the GFN23 that relate to consumer advocacy. Join Martin Cullip, from the TPA, Tom Gleeson from NNA Ireland/ETHRA, Jeff Zamora, president of ARDT Iberoamerica and Nancy Loucas, from CAPHRA as we will also take questions from those who were unable to attend the session about what consumers can do and what they should demand from their delegations who are going to Panama in November.

Science fiction often paints a picture of societies that are akin to an Orwellian novel, where a dictatorial power controls what we can read, say or do! Well maybe George Orwell’s 1984 its already here with a rather stark announcement made about a collaboration between Google and WHO of a "multi-year Collaboration Agreement" to provide credible health-related information to help billions of people around the world respond to emerging and future public health issues. So a global health organization that wants to control the flow of information via censorship, yet supports some of the worst governments in the world, all the while peddling policies contrary to public health. Can they really be trusted??