WHO FCTC Knowledge Hub for Articles 17 and 18 - environment & tobacco

19/01/2026

The National Policy on Alternatives in To***co-Growing Areas was launched this week. In its initial phase, a pilot project will support around 300 farmersRaquel Gurgel | 2 December, 2025

23/12/2025

Warm wishes for a joyful holiday season and a healthy, sustainable 2026!

In the year ahead, we remain committed to spreading knowledge about the environmental and health impacts of the to***co production cycle, and to sharing alternatives for to***co workers.

Thank you for being with us!

12/12/2025

For the first time, the WHO FCTC Global Progress Report includes data on measures taken by Parties to address the environmental and health impacts of to***co consumption, such as plastic pollution.

Only 47 of the 129 Parties that submitted reports said they implement such measures, despite new policies in areas such as waste management, penalties for improper disposal and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

Examples from Azerbaijan, the European Union, Germany and Montenegro illustrate early steps. But significant gaps remain in cultivation, manufacturing and research.

Learn more: https://extranet.who.int/fctcapps/fctcapps/fctc/kh/alternativelivelihoods/first-time-parties-report-measures-addressing-environmental

Photo: Brian Yurasit / Unsplash






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05/12/2025

The latest Global Progress Report on the implementation of the shows that while global to***co production continues to fall, support for farmers, workers and individual sellers is not keeping pace.

Learn more: https://extranet.who.int/fctcapps/fctcapps/fctc/kh/alternativelivelihoods/persistent-gaps-support-to***co-alternatives

02/12/2025

📢 The Brazilian government launched this week the National Policy on Alternatives in To***co-Growing Areas (PNACT). It focuses on free public technical assistance and rural extension, , access to credit, marketing, and food security and sovereignty.

Marcelo Moreno, coordinator of our Knowledge Hub, attended the launch, representing Cetab - Fiocruz and the National Commission for the Implementation of the WHO FCTC (Conicq).

🔎 PNACT will be implemented through the National Plan on Alternatives in To***co-Growing Areas, in coordination with programs such as the National School Feeding Program (Pnae).

✅ In its initial phase, a pilot project will support around 300 farmers in three to***co-growing regions in southern Brazil, to assist those who wish to diversify or leave to***co cultivation.

Brazil once had a National Program for Diversification in To***co-Growing Areas, created in 2006 shortly after the country ratified the . After benefiting thousands of farming families, the program stopped receiving funding and was discontinued.

❗️The new Policy resumes and expands this agenda: “This is no longer just a one-off diversification program, but a Policy on Alternatives, which carries significant weight. What is being stated is that alternatives to to***co cultivation do exist, and that families can and should be supported when they make this choice. In this way, the government renews a commitment made by the Brazilian State when it ratified the Convention and expresses its concern for farming families,” says Moreno.

📸 First photo - Photo by Mari Mendes

📸 Second photo - Photo by MDA. From left to right: Bohn Gass (Federal Deputy for Rio Grande do Sul); Milton Bernardes (Superintendent of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming — MDA — in Rio Grande do Sul); Paulo Teixeira (Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Farming); Joseildo Ramos (Federal Deputy); Marcelo Moreno (Coordinator of Cetab/ENSP/Fiocruz, Director of the WHO FCTC Knowledge Hub for Articles 17 and 18, and Conicq representative); and Mareilson da Silva (Director of Technical Assistance and Rural Extension at the MDA).

WHO FCTC

01/12/2025

26/11/2025

decision on Article 18 — which addresses the environmental impacts of to***co — is now available:https://storage.googleapis.com/who-fctc-cop11-source/Decisions/fctc-cop-11-10-en.pdf

Brazil, Mexico and Panama presented a proposal urging Parties to consider prohibiting cigarette filters and other accessories that harm the .

Although the proposed ban did not reach consensus, the final decision still advances key elements.

Among other measures, the decision invites Parties to:

• Establish coordination mechanisms between health, environment and other agencies to consider the possible classification of to***co product waste;

• Develop evidence-based studies and research on the environmental impacts and costs of to***co and ni****ne products and related electronic devices;

• Conduct studies on the costs of preventing and managing the waste produced by these products;

• Develop awareness campaigns and national reporting mechanisms;

• Identify, expose and counter practices;

• Consider comprehensive regulatory options for to***co and ni****ne product components that increase environmental harm.

The COP also requested the Convention Secretariat — with support from the WHO FCTC Knowledge Hubs and WHO — to prepare a technical report with recommendations for Parties, to be submitted at COP12.

📸WHO/FCTC/Antoine Tardy



WHO FCTC
Cetab - Fiocruz
ASH: Action on Smoking & Health
ACTbr
Expose To***co
Unfairto***co

19/11/2025

Filters don’t protect smokers — and they create one of the world’s largest sources of plastic pollution. Most are made of cellulose acetate, breaking down into that contaminate soil, waterways, and food chains.

At , Parties are examining policy options to address to***co-related waste and the role of filters in sustaining both smoking and pollution. Brazil is expected to propose that Parties assess banning filters and hold the industry accountable for environmental damage.

Sources: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20251114-to***co-conference-to-weigh-up-stubbing-out-cigarette-butts

https://ojoioeotrigo.com.br/2025/11/cop-do-tabaco-brasil-deve-propor-banir-filtros-em-cigarros-e-sugerir-taxas-contra-industria-por-bitucas/

https://extranet.who.int/fctcapps/sites/default/files/inline-files/EN-Microplastics-and-To***co_1.pdf

https://extranet.who.int/fctcapps/fctcapps/fctc/kh/alternativelivelihoods/e-library/opposition-banning-cigarette-filters-and-belief

https://ggtc.world/knowledge/sustainability-and-human-rights/to***cos-toxic-plastics-a-global-outlook

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WHO FCTC Cetab - Fiocruz ACTbr Global Center for Good Governance in To***co Control GGTC ASH: Action on Smoking & Health

16/10/2025

An estimated 8.2% of the global population — almost 700 million people — experience hunger.

Although progress has been made globally, hunger continues to rise in most subregions of Africa and Western Asia, according to ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025’.

Yet in many developing countries, large areas of fertile land are still used to grow to***co instead of nutritious crops that could feed families, strengthen local economies, and be better for farmers’ health and the environment.

🎯Article 17 of the WHO FCTC calls on governments to support economically viable alternatives for to***co growers and workers.

Transitioning from to***co to food crops is not always easy, especially for smallholder farmers. But with the right public policies, access to credit, and rural technical assistance, change is possible.

By supporting farmers to grow food instead of to***co, we move closer to achieving food security, better nutrition, and sustainable livelihoods — goals at the heart of the 2030 Agenda.

🔗Sources:
https://www.who.int/news/item/28-07-2025-global-hunger-declines-but-rises-in-africa-and-western-asia-un-report

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240073937

📸Freepik

***coFreeFarms
WHO FCTC Cetab - Fiocruz

15/10/2025

Santa Colomba Agropecuária, a to***co leaf supplier for Philip Morris in Brazil, was cited by the country’s Ministry of Labor in November 2023 for subjecting a worker to conditions analogous to slavery. The employee reported being handcuffed, locked in a dark room, and physically assaulted by security guards at one of the company’s farms.

The Ministry’s technical team confirmed the violation based on police records and medical reports, which led to the citation.

Yet, two years later, Santa Colomba has not been added to the government’s “Dirty List” of employers found to have subjected workers to slave-like conditions — a list that is updated every six months.

This delay stems from a request made by the company, after which the acting Minister of Labor personally took over the case and assumed responsibility for the final decision.

Read the full report by Repórter Brasil: https://reporterbrasil.org.br/2025/10/empresa-que-driblou-lista-suja-fornece-para-philip-morris-e-syngenta/

WHO FCTC Cetab - Fiocruz

09/10/2025

Coming from a background of to***co farming, where chemical fertilizer use and poor soil health were the norm, Ireen has seen a dramatic turnaround. Once harvesting only 20 bags of maize per season, she now proudly brings in 40 to 60 bags. “Everyone is admiring my field now,” she says. “It’s gone from depleted and dry to rich and productive. As a single mother, I can finally say I see a clear future through farming.”

Meet Ireen Railey. She is a determined Principal Lead Farmer from Kapatamoyo Chiefdom in Chipata District. Like many other small-scale farmers, Ireen once doubted the idea of planting Gliricidia sepium trees in her field. She feared the trees would block sunlight and reduce her crop yields.

But everything changed in 2021 when COMACO introduced sustainable farming practices in her area. Ireen was inspired by the message of farming with nature and decided to join the movement, although she was still sceptical about Gliricidia trees.

“I was eager to learn how to make compost,” she recalls. “I was told Gliricidia wouldn’t just enrich the soil; it would also be a key ingredient in compost making. So, I gave it a try and planted 500 trees that first year. The results were unbelievable. My soil became visibly fertile, and I’ve continued planting every year until my whole field is now covered.”

07/10/2025

A Brazilian news platform, O Joio e O Trigo, has revealed how the to***co and v**e industries are trying to link the legalization of v**es to job creation in rural areas — and why this claim doesn’t hold up.

BAT Brazil sponsored a study claiming legalization would create thousands of new agricultural jobs. But internal documents from e-cigarette manufacturer Juul tell a different story: based on estimates of the to***co needed to produce Juul’s liquid ni****ne, fewer than 100 farmers could meet BAT’s projected demand.

The documents also show that Juul considered sourcing high-ni****ne dark burley to***co from Brazil — a variety grown by less than 25% of farmers, barn-cured, and paying on average 14% less than Virginia to***co. The plan would have required only 600 farmers globally and never materialized, as Juul opted for low-cost Indian ni****ne and synthetic alternatives.

As cigarette use declines and va**ng rises, supporting alternative livelihoods for to***co farmers — in line with Article 17 of the WHO FCTC — has never been more urgent.

Brazil pledged in 2024 to restart its National Program for Diversification in To***co-Growing Areas, but implementation is still pending.

📖 Read the full investigation: https://cortinadevapor.ojoioeotrigo.com.br/

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WHO FCTC WHO FCTC Knowledge Hub for Article 5.3 Cetab - Fiocruz