14 November, 2025
The European Respiratory Society (ERS) urges COP11 to adopt stronger global tobacco-control measures to protect health and the environment
ERS is calling on governments at the Eleventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to take decisive steps to end the tobacco epidemic and the pollution it leaves behind.
With recently published ERS research showing that generational sales bans are legally feasible and new WHO data confirming Europe as the world’s heaviest-smoking region, ERS urges governments to adopt forward-looking endgame policies, reject industry ‘harm-reduction’ claims around novel products, and make producers fully liable for their waste.
Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and premature death in Europe, claiming more than 700,000 lives each year across the European Union (EU) and more than one million in the wider WHO European Region. Beyond health harms, tobacco production, consumption, and waste contribute significantly to environmental pollution. ERS warns that unless governments act decisively, Europe risks missing the Beating Cancer Plan’s target of reducing tobacco use to below 5% of the population by 2040.
The Society’s Endgame Report demonstrates that generational sales bans and other ‘forward-looking’ measures under Article 2.1 of the WHO FCTC are compatible with international and EU law when proportionate, evidence-based, and grounded in public-health objectives. Additional research published in Tobacco Control shows that voluntary extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes are insufficient to prevent corporate greenwashing and calls for a shift towards enforceable extended producer liability (EPL) to make polluters pay.
ERS calls on Parties to:
- Facilitate the adoption of forward-looking endgame measures, including generational sales bans and Tobacco 21 policies that prevent youth initiation.
- Enforce the precautionary principle by rejecting unproven ‘harm-reduction’ narratives, prohibiting greenwashing, and ensuring full implementation of FCTC Article 5.3 to exclude the tobacco industry from having an influence on policymaking.
- Support the ban on cigarette filters, classify tobacco product waste as hazardous, and move from EPR to EPL to ensure industry accountability.
- Strengthen liability mechanisms under Article 19 so governments can recover the public costs of tobacco-related disease and pollution through levies, fees, and sanctions on the industry.
“COP11 is the chance for governments to turn evidence into action,” said Dr Filippos Filippidis, Chair of the ERS Tobacco Control Committee. “Endgame policies are not radical – they are the logical next step in protecting public health and preventing addiction.”
Steven Baylis, member of the ERS Tobacco Control Committee and author of Adoption of Tobacco Endgame Policies in the EU, said, “This is the moment to move from managing harm to preventing it. Evidence shows that endgame policies are achievable, lawful, and essential to protect future generations.”
Read the ERS statement to COP11.
Tobacco consumption remains one of the leading causes of preventable illness and premature death in the EU. Learn more about ERS advocacy activities related to tobacco control.