Big Tobacco Targets Caribbean Nations Ahead of Global Treaty Talks – Governments Must Shut Down Industry Interference

Washington, D.C. -  As nearly every country in the world prepares to meet in Geneva next month for the Eleventh Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the world’s largest tobacco companies are actively targeting Caribbean nations to weaken global health commitments that have saved millions of lives. 

At COP11, 183 Parties to the FCTC will come together to strengthen efforts to reduce tobacco use and protect public health. For 20 years, the FCTC has successfully guided countries in adopting proven measures like smoke-free laws, picture warning labels on tobacco products, higher tobacco taxes and prohibitions on tobacco marketing. The result of these polices has been millions of lives saved around the world. 

But as governments prepare for COP11, the tobacco industry is stepping up efforts to undermine the treaty’s progress on public health. Saint Kitts and Nevis, along with Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago are being actively targeted by tobacco companies seeking to influence Caribbean governments to weaken global public health commitments. Similar tactics are being deployed around the world as part of the industry’s coordinated global playbook. 

At COP10 in Panama, positions taken by Saint Kitts and Nevis raised serious alarm among public health advocates for closely mirroring tobacco industry talking points – a pattern that has continued in the leadup to COP11. 

Leading health organizations including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the Global Alliance for Tobacco Control, and the Healthy Caribbean Coalition have sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The letter expresses concern about the need to safeguard public health policymaking from the influence of the tobacco industry. It notes that the tobacco industry prioritizes profit over people’s lives, especially by marketing addictive products like e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products to young people. 

As COP11 approaches, governments must remember one truth: The tobacco industry is the architect of the global tobacco epidemic which kills more than 8 million people each year. Big Tobacco’s presence is toxic to rational, evidence-based policymaking. Governments must shut the door on tobacco industry interference and stand united to protect kids from a lifetime of addiction. 

As the world prepares for COP11 discussions, governments should be focused on renewing commitments to tackling tobacco use and nicotine addiction – because millions of lives depend on governments using their power to protect public health.