Behind Closed Doors: The Secret Push for Total Nicotine Prohibition at COP11

How a quiet move in Geneva threatened over one million jobs and risked rewriting EU law—without consent 

When EU governments explicitly rejected radical nicotine bans last week in Brussels, most believed the debate had been settled. But at COP11 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in Geneva, that decision was quietly reversed—not by the member states, but by a small group of EU officials acting without approval. 

A leaked internal document has now revealed a covert strategy to commit Europe to a sweeping total ban on all alternative nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, synthetic nicotine, and heated tobacco. The scope went far beyond regulatory oversight—it would outlaw the manufacturing, import, sale, presentation, distribution, and even the use of these products across the continent. 

And here’s the most shocking part: 

🔴 EU Member States had already rejected this prohibition. 

🔴 Yet the EU Commission (DG SANTE) and the Danish EU Council Presidency reintroduced the bans anyway, attempting to push them through at the UN level—outside the jurisdiction of EU democracy. 

 

🇪🇺 A Ban Conceived in Brussels, Activated in Geneva 

 

The leaked document directly instructs EU negotiators to support a complete prohibition on "novel and emerging nicotine products," despite knowing this contradicted the official EU mandate agreed days earlier. 

Two “fallback clauses” were reportedly included to: 

👉 Push the prohibition forward even if EU nations objected 

👉 Approve wording that clashes with the EU’s official position 

One diplomat described it as, 

“A direct violation of mandate… the red line has been crossed.” 

 

📉 What’s at Stake? Over 1 Million Jobs & Thousands of Businesses 

 

The impact of this proposal would be immediate and devastating. According to industry estimates, this ban would eliminate: 

⚙️ 1,000,000+ jobs in manufacturing, supply chain, flavor science, retail & logistics 

🏪 Tens of thousands of family-run vape shops and SMEs 

🧪 Major producers and equipment manufacturers across Poland, Italy, Germany, Czechia, Croatia, Netherlands, and the Baltics 

💶 Billions in tax revenue 

🔄 And the very tools millions of adult smokers rely on to quit cigarettes 

Rather than supporting smoking reduction strategies, this approach would erase the entire European harm reduction market, pushing consumers back toward traditional cigarettes or unregulated black-market products. 

 

🔬 Rejecting Harm Reduction – A Backward Step for Public Health 

 

The document doesn’t only seek prohibition—it also calls for a global directive to “firmly reject all claims of harm reduction or reduced risk.” 

This stance: 

🚫 Ignores decades of evidence from Sweden, the UK, and independent researchers 

🚫 Attempts to silence physicians advocating for smoke-free alternatives 

🚫 Reframes harm reduction as “industry interference,” effectively shutting down debate 

A medical specialist interviewed on the matter summarized it bluntly: 

“This is ideological prohibitionism—not public health.” 

 

⚠️ A Governance Crisis First, a Health Issue Second 

 

The issue now exceeds the debate on nicotine regulation. 

This controversy highlights: 

❗ Democratic bypassing within EU policymaking 

🚨 The risk of using international forums to force legislative change back in the EU 

🧨 A potential institutional rupture, similar to the Tobacco Products Directive conflict a decade ago 

Several Member States are reportedly preparing formal complaints and questioning whether the Commission had exceeded its legal authority. One diplomat is quoted as saying: 

“This was not a miscommunication. This was an intentional end-run around the Member States.” 

 

🔍 What Could Happen Next 

 

The coming days could reshape both EU policy and industry future: 

Potential Outcome  Impact  🇪🇺 Member States intervene publicly  Reject the position at COP11  📜 Mandate correction  Restore original EU decision  🎙 Diplomatic challenge  Force accountability  🕵️ Formal investigation  Into mandate misuse & procedural breach

 

Failing intervention, Europe could find itself bound to a prohibition policy it never approved. 

 

🎯 Final Thought 

 

This is more than a debate over vaping or nicotine—it’s a test of how decisions are made in the EU, who enforces them, and whether science and public health carry more weight than ideology and bureaucracy. 

Millions of Europeans—workers, consumers, and families—deserve transparency. They deserve responsible policy. They deserve better. 

🔎 The question now is simple:

Will the EU uphold its democratic mandate, or allow Geneva to rewrite European law? 

 

📢 Stay Informed. Stay Engaged. 

 

This story is still developing. If you represent an industry stakeholder, retailer, advocacy group, or public health professional, now is the time to: 

✔ Monitor official COP11 and EU Council statements 
✔ Prepare public response material 
✔ Support evidence-based harm reduction policy 
✔ Engage your national representatives 

 

Real public health supports safer choices—not bans. 
Europe deserves answers. And accountability.