By Timothy S. Donahue

Top Takeaways:

• COP11 adopted sweeping new measures including an outright ban on novel nicotine products at all UN premises and strengthened provisions on environmental regulation and industry liability.
• The debates over forward-looking measures, flavored and non-combustible products and industry influence highlighted persistent fault lines even after the formal decisions.
• The industry must now anticipate expansion of regulatory scrutiny beyond cigarettes into product components, product waste, supply-chain liability and novel nicotine formats as enforcement enters the illegality domain via MOP4.

The six-day meeting of the Eleventh Session of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (COP11) concluded in Geneva on November 22, 2025, with 160 Parties agreeing to a set of significant new regulatory measures addressing environmental harm, industry liability, and the regulation of novel nicotine products.

“These important decisions made by Parties to the Convention will contribute towards saving millions of lives in the years to come and protecting the planet from the environmental harms of tobacco,” said Andrew Black, Acting Head of the Convention Secretariat.

Key decisions included expanding regulation of product components and waste streams, requiring Parties to secure sustainable national funding for tobacco control programs, exploring legislative options to implement Article 19 on industry liability, and adopting supply-side measures under Article 2.1 on forward-looking tobacco control.

A landmark move was a decision calling for a complete ban on tobacco products, heated tobacco, novel nicotine products such as electronic nicotine delivery systems and electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENDS/ENNDS), and nicotine pouches on all United Nations indoor and outdoor premises worldwide.

COP11 convened amid longstanding debates within the treaty process, including disagreements over how to regulate non-combustible nicotine products, flavored vapes, and industry interference. Previous coverage noted that more than 20 Parties opposed the “invitation” language in future measures, arguing it threatened sovereign rights, while many others supported the draft text as non-binding but setting a precedent.

Parallel events like the “Good COP 2.0” conference raised concerns about the treaty’s secretive nature and the exclusion of consumer-voice and harm-reduction stakeholders from formal COP meetings.

For the tobacco and nicotine product sector, the Geneva meeting highlights that global regulators are increasingly going beyond traditional combustible tobacco rules to include environmental, liability, emerging product, and supply chain measures. Products previously considered “alternatives” are now clearly within the scope of regulation or ban. As one industry observer briefly noted, the COP adopted decisions that will “guide tobacco control efforts for years to come.”

However, critics say the WHO FCTC is naive in its approach to next-generation nicotine products. The WHO stance against all nicotine products, critics argue, keeps smoker’s smoking cigarettes when less risky options are available. The WHO’s harsh stance is also boosting black markets.

The Australian Border Force (ABF)-backed delegation is lead three seminars on global tobacco and vape policy at COP11 — even though reports from home show an unprecedented surge in illicit cigarettes and vapes.

Negotiators also addressed liability, environmental impact, and forward-looking policy options, while many outside observers warned that the talks are shifting toward prohibition at the expense of harm reduction. The Parties did not pass a full prohibition of nicotine products, but the proposal was seriously considered.

With COP11 concluded, the focus now shifts to the Fourth Meeting of the Parties (MOP4) to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, which begins today (November 24–26) in Geneva. This gathering of 71 Parties will review regulatory frameworks and enforcement tools to fight illicit trade, which the FCTC estimates makes up 11% of the global tobacco market and costs more than US$47 billion in tax revenue every year.