The 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) will be held in Geneva, Switzerland from November 7th to 22nd, 2025. As a mechanism for more than 180 countries that have approved the FCTC to consult on global tobacco control policies and international standards, the FCTC COP is regarded as an important decision-making platform in the field of tobacco policy.
The conference intends to list tobacco component testing and information disclosure (Articles 9 and 10 of the Convention), environmental issues related to tobacco (Article 18), and the responsibility of the tobacco industry (Article 19) as core discussion items. The government delegations of the participating countries will report on the implementation of the convention and discuss specific policy directions such as new regulatory plans, tax arrangements and environmental responses.
In South Korea, the “Tobacco Harmfulness Management Act” will be officially implemented on November 1st, and it is planned to promote scientific assessment of all tobacco product categories. How to align domestic systems with international standards has been listed as a key task at the implementation level in the near future. South Korea has always been involved in the FCTC process: The Fifth Conference of the Parties was held in Seoul in 2012, and the Protocol on the Elimination of Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products was unanimously adopted at the conference. At the 10th Conference of the Parties to be held in Panama in 2024, the South Korean delegation introduced the situation where the adult smoking rate was reduced to 17.7% in 2022 through legislation and continuous tobacco control publicity.
Against the backdrop of the slow progress of the amendment to the Tobacco Business Act, including the inclusion of “synthetic nicotine” in tobacco regulation, in the National Assembly, experts predict that the international consensus formed at COP11 may provide a basis for domestic tax and regulatory adjustments, thereby having a direct impact on South Korea’s tobacco regulatory system. At present, the South Korean government is organizing a delegation and preparing to send a COP11 delegation.