At the end of November, Panama City will host the 10th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The FCTC is an international treaty (signed and ratified by 182 countries) which was originally drafted to address the harms of combustible tobacco. In recent years, however, those administering the treaty—the FCTC Secretariat and Bureau—have increasingly turned their guns on vapes and other reduced-risk products, such as heated tobacco and nicotine pouches. And many national governments, especially in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the Global South, automatically adhere to the WHO’s positions. Unfortunately, the FCTC’s COP 10 this year is likely to continue to ignore the evidence that novel tobacco products including e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn and pouches are both significantly less harmful and have helped millions of adults around the globe quit smoking. TPA is hosting a five-day war room in
Panama that will bring 30 experts to discuss the various FCTC proposals and threats adult consumers face in obtaining access to tobacco harm reduction products. Check out our Good COP/Bad COP landing page ([link removed]) to get more details.

WHO's Assault on Tobacco Harm Reduction

You may not have heard it, but the final lap bell has been rung in the race to inflict maximum damage on tobacco harm reduction at a WHO meeting later this year. From here on in, it’s a sprint to the finish. If the WHO is successful, public health worldwide will be the loser. As I mentioned above, at the end of November, Panama City will host COP10. The biennial COP was last held in-person in 2018. COVID-19 saw the 2020 gathering postponed until a virtual iteration in 2021—when all decisions were kicked down the road until this year, due to it being considered suboptimal to hold serious discussions remotely. That does not mean that the WHO’s well-established hostility to tobacco harm reduction was parked for the last five years. On the contrary, FCTC administrators have been steadily building up a portfolio of cherry-picked evidence and dishonest reports from sources carefully selected for their ideological opposition to anything but quit-or-die tobacco control policies. One proposal
seeks to redefine “smoking cessation” as quitting not only smoking, but all nicotine use.

Published WHO reports have suggested banning open vaping systems; prohibiting all the non-tobacco e-liquid flavors which most people who use vapes to quit smoking prefer; banning nicotine salts in liquids; and regulating vapes according to nicotine emissions over time, ultimately replacing the wide range of devices currently available with homogenized options that don’t meet people’s diverse needs. Further WHO reports have recommended redefining “smoke” to include “visible aerosols deriving in whole or in part from thermally driven chemical reactions”—gases which are certainly not smoke. This verbal subterfuge would drag vaping firmly into the remit of the FCTC treaty. A similar proposal seeks to redefine “smoking cessation” as quitting not only smoking, but all nicotine use. Another recent WHO report recommended “that regulations of tobacco products [be] extended and applied to all forms of nicotine and tobacco products and not restricted to conventional cigarettes.” This would subje
ct safer nicotine products to every onerous restriction currently applied to combustible tobacco: taxation at the same rate as cigarettes; public vaping bans, both indoors and outdoors; graphic health warnings; prohibition of advertising, and plain packaging.

Until now, the runup to COP10 has felt like a phony war. The WHO has been patting itself on the back for its 75th anniversary—and at the end of May, just before WHO No Tobacco Day, celebrated 20 years since the 2003 signing of the FCTC treaty. With these events out of the way, harm reduction deniers have rolled up their sleeves, and are now working tirelessly towards the eradication of products which have driven dramatic declines in smoking rates wherever they have been liberally regulated. At the beginning of June, the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region held a third meeting on taxation of tobacco and nicotine products. Two weeks later, another secret meeting was held in Geneva on the issue of flavors, which will likely influence preparations for COP10 by the WHO and FCTC Secretariat in persuading delegates to impose bans. Immediately after that, the WHO’s misnamed Global Consultation on Novel and Emerging Nicotine and Tobacco Products followed, discussing potential regulations on the
whole range of safer nicotine products, which will almost certainly lead to more policy recommendations ahead of COP10. Naturally, only those fully committed to prohibition were invited. The only way that the public, the safer nicotine trade, and tobacco harm reduction advocates can have an impact on events in Panama is by petitioning elected representatives and government officials in their own countries. Decisions at COP10 are made by the national delegations, so it is crucial to engage at a national level with key policymakers and potential delegates. With the clock ticking, this action is becoming more urgent by the day. As we speak, national delegations and country positions are already being decided. The registration process has been open since early May. If the WHO’s inexorable march toward depriving the world of products which have helped tens of millions quit smoking is to be obstructed, the time to try is now.


New York Nanny State Nonsense

New York is the “city that never sleeps.” However, after the past few months, city residents are hoping the city’s lawmakers and regulators would at least take a nap. Even with no shortage of economic issues to take care of, New York lawmakers have set their sights on regulating coal-fired pizza and energy drinks. A proposal late last month would have New York’s pizzerias cut emissions on their coal and wood-fired pizza ovens by roughly 75 percent. According to the proposal by the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, restaurants must evaluate whether their exhaust systems can be fitted with scrubbers that can trap emissions. And, if they could be retrofitted, the pizza purveyors would then be forced to install the scrubbers. Owners are saying that installing such equipment may change the functionality of the oven, which would impact the way the pizza tastes. This would be a tragedy in its own right because New Yorkers claim to have the best tasting pizza in the country. Nanny
state governmental policies are now trying to downgrade America’s best pizza. More potentially pressing for consumers is the cost. Paul Giannone, owner of Paulie Gee’s in Brooklyn, said of the cost, “Oh yeah, it’s a big expense. It’s not just the expense of having it installed, it’s the maintenance. I got to pay somebody to do it, to go up there every couple of weeks and hose it down and, you know, do the maintenance.” Costs associated with installing new oven equipment to comply with this new regulation is estimated to come to around $20,000. Either New York’s pizza joints will have to start selling far more pizza or will have to raise their prices to make up that cost. Some may not even have a spare twenty thousand to spend and may have to go out of business.

The bitter irony is that the state of New York shut down its Indian Point nuclear power plant in 2021. That move ended up making downstate New York nearly entirely dependent on fossil fuels. New York lawmakers have avenues at their disposal to reduce emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. To account for its avoidable and reversable blunder at Indian Point, they are making independent pizza shops suffer, as well as the millions of consumers who love a good New York slice.

Not to be outdone, last week, New York Senator – and U.S. Senate Majority Leader – Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “look into” PRIME energy drinks. Sen. Schumer claims the company “feverishly targets” kids with advertisements, but also presents a “serious health concern.” The basis of Schumer’s claim is the fact that the energy drink has a high concentration of caffeine. Schumer’s claim ignores the fact that PRIME energy drinks have a warning label that the product is not recommended for anyone under the age of 18. PRIME also markets a sports drink – PRIME Hydration – which contains zero caffeine. The brand – created and popularized by YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI – has already gone out of its way to avoid this issue. However, once again, New York lawmakers have felt the need to get their hands on something they don’t understand. This need to “do something” about anything not entirely liked is not specific to New York, but in the la
st month, New York lawmakers have elevated it to an art form, casting aside any potential concerns for consumers who love pizza and sports drinks.
July 14, 2023: The Daily Mail (United Kingdom) quoted TPA in their story, “Biden is accused of giving taxpayers a 'slap in the face' by forgiving $39 BILLION in student debt: Slammed for making 80% of Americans who don't have the loans 'subsidize' the few who do.”



BLOGS:



** Monday: Congress must rein in pharmacy benefit managers to lower healthcare costs ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------



** Tuesday: Senator Manchin Opposes Controversial Biden Nominee Julie Su ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


**
------------------------------------------------------------


** Wednesday: Nanny State New York Coming After Pizza, Sports Drinks ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


**
------------------------------------------------------------


** Thursday: Wireless Group Says More Mid-Band Spectrum Needed to Keep 5G growth Going ([link removed])

Friday: FTC and DOJ Merger Guidelines Harm Competition ([link removed]) Wireless Group Says More Mid-Band Spectrum Needed to Keep 5G growth Going ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


**


------------------------------------------------------------
MEDIA:


July 14, 2023: The Daily Mail (United Kingdom) quoted TPA in their story, “Biden is accused of giving taxpayers a 'slap in the face' by forgiving $39 BILLION in student debt: Slammed for making 80% of Americans who don't have the loans 'subsidize' the few who do.”


July 15, 2023: The Express (United Kingdom) quoted TPA in their article, “Joe Biden's $39 billion student debt write-off a 'slap in the face.'”


July 17, 2023: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about the Baltimore City Council hearing on the Brooklyn homes shooting.


July 18, 2023: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their story, “Questions arise over timing of city grant for nonprofit run by mayor's partner.”


July 18, 2023: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their story, “Report: $1.8 billion budget deficit projected in Maryland by the end of decade.”


July 19, 2023: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their story, “Blueprint education funding mandates expected to play role in Maryland's looming deficit.”


July 19, 2023: Townhall.com ran TPA’s op-ed, “Wireless Group Says More Mid-Band Spectrum Needed to Keep 5G growth Going.”


July 19, 2023: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their story, “Calls for action as three Baltimore City pools remain closed.”


July 20, 2023: I appeared on WBOB 600 AM (Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about agency mission creep and social media’s First Amendment rights.


July 20, 2023: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about Baltimore low on a raking of cities for first time homebuyers.

Have a great weekend!

Best,
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1101 14th Street, NW
Suite 1120
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
www.protectingtaxpayers.org ([link removed])

============================================================
** ([link removed])
** Like Us On Facebook ([link removed])
** ([link removed])
** Follow Us On Twitter ([link removed])
Our mailing address is:
1101 14th Street NW
Suite 1120
Washington, DC xxxxxx

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])