Good COP / Bad COP

The World Health Organization (WHO) will be hosting its 10th biennial Conference of the Parties (COP) of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) this November in Panama City, Panama.  While the FCTC recognizes three pillars of tobacco control – prevention, cessation, and harm reduction – FCTC administrators and the WHO continue to obstruct the use of novel tobacco harm reduction products in aiding the world’s 1.3 billion tobacco users to switch to a safer alternative to cigarettes.

At the same time the WHO is hosting the FCTC meeting, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) will be hosting the Conference of the People (COP), aka Good COP, to counter the WHO’s Bad COP. TPA’s Good COP will feature a variety of experts from around the globe who have spent the past decade researching and advocating tobacco harm reduction.

TPA has long advocated for adult access to tobacco harm reduction products including e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, nicotine pouches, and smokeless or snus products. Mounting evidence continues to indicate these products are significantly less harmful than combustible cigarettes and have aided millions of adults in both quitting cigarettes and remaining smokefree.

The Good COP will feature a war room at the American Trade Hotel where tobacco harm reduction experts and consumers  will monitor and respond to the WHO’s meeting. Media and delegates to the Bad COP can meet one on one with global experts and consumers from around the world who will be negatively impacted by the WHO’s draconian responses to novel tobacco harm reduction products.

Confirmed experts include:

Jeannie Cameron – Ms. Cameron is Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director at JCIC International Consultancy.  Ms. Cameron has 20 years experience in the tobacco and vaping industry covering the spectrum of regulatory issues including product, packaging, taxation, illicit trade, track and trace and supply chain security, and with a focus on tobacco harm reduction and the transition of smokers to less harmful nicotine alternatives. She is also an expert on the FCTC treaty.

Brian Marlow – Mr. Marlow is the President of the Australia Taxpayers’ Alliance (ATA). He is also the Director of Legalise Vaping Australia, where he heads up ATA’s campaign to Legalise life-saving vaping technology in Australia. He has worked in grassroots campaigning since 2015 at both the state and federal level.

Joel Sawa – Mr. Sawa is a scholar with Knowledge Action Change and a Board Member for the Campaign for Safer Alternatives (CASA), based in Uganda, and works to promote a conducive environment for low-risk nicotine alternatives and ultimately, a progression of Uganda and the region towards a smoke-free future.

Christopher Snowdon – Mr. Snowdon, head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London, and Janine Timmons of Vapers for a Smoke-Free Canada, a passionate consumer advocate for harm reduction.

Dr. Roberto Sussman – Dr. Sussman is a full-time senior researcher and lecturer at the Institute for Nuclear Sciences of the National University of Mexico who actively advocates for appropriate regulation of tobacco harm reduction products in Mexico.

Additional experts will be announced as they are confirmed.  Be sure to visit the Good COP/Bad COP resources page for materials and updates.

Between now and November, TPA will be providing content from our experts and consumers around the globe to bring more attention towards what will be a pivotal conference for adult consumers. The WHO must not continue to ignore the science and data regarding safer nicotine products and must work with all – consumers, manufacturers, and public health experts, among others – to ensure that adults have access to safer alternatives to smoking.