As the World Health Organization’s COP11 tobacco-control conference nears, the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) is stepping up efforts to make consumers visible — projecting messages onto the conference venue and demanding a role in policy discussions. WVA Director Michael Landl blasted the event as “an echo chamber stuck in outdated, anti-science thinking.”

“Harm reduction isn’t a marketing ploy, it’s a public health necessity supported by hard data,” Landl said. “Consumers’ lives matter more than ideology or the views of wealthy WHO donors like Michael Bloomberg. It’s time consumers got a real seat at the table.”

The group warned that WHO proposals to ban flavored vaping products, cap nicotine levels, and raise taxes disregard scientific evidence that vaping and nicotine pouches can be less harmful alternatives for smokers. WVA spokesperson Liza Katsiashvili cautioned that bans and steep taxes would likely push consumers back to cigarettes or into black markets, urging delegates to “listen to the facts, not ideology.”

Through its “Voices Unheard – Consumers Matter” campaign, the WVA is calling on governments to adopt evidence-based regulations and to give consumers a formal voice in shaping global tobacco policy.