Seeking Policy Directions Toward a 'Tobacco-Free Future' with the International Community

Korean Government Delegation Attends WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Conference of the Parties

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that the government delegation will attend the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from November 17 to 22, 2025.

The WHO FCTC is the first international convention in the health sector aimed at reducing global tobacco consumption and smoking rates, with 183 countries currently participating as parties to the convention. The Conference of the Parties, held every two years, reviews the implementation status of the convention in each country and discusses ways to further promote its implementation. This year, the Korean government delegation, consisting of 13 members including Kweak Soonheon, Director General of Health Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as chief delegate, as well as officials from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the Korea Health Promotion Institute, and experts in tobacco control policy, will attend the meeting in person.

The conference will open on November 17 (local time) under the theme "20 Years of Change, a Tobacco-Free Future for Generations." Each party will share updates on convention implementation and achievements in tobacco control since the 10th session. Key agenda items include forward-looking tobacco control measures (Article 2.1 of the Convention), urging accountability from the tobacco industry (Article 19), regulation and disclosure of tobacco product ingredients (Articles 9 and 10), and measures to protect health policies from tobacco industry interference.

Korea will present its major achievements in tobacco control policy, such as ▲ plans to expand the definition of tobacco to regulate all products containing nicotine (October 2025), and ▲ the enforcement of the "Act on the Management of Harmful Effects of Tobacco," which mandates analysis and public disclosure of harmful tobacco ingredients (November 2025). Korea will also introduce various policy examples aimed at preventing smoking initiation and supporting cessation, including nationwide anti-smoking advertisements and campaigns, as well as the expansion of tailored smoking cessation support services.

In addition, the Korean delegation will emphasize the need to close regulatory loopholes for new types of tobacco products such as e-cigarettes and to strengthen the management of tobacco-related harm. The delegation will also call for international cooperation to address the spread of tobacco advertising and marketing through multinational ICT-based media platforms. Furthermore, they plan to seek ways to raise awareness and develop countermeasures to prevent the tobacco industry's interference in health policy, and to request the interest and cooperation of all parties in strengthening national smoking cessation support services.

Kweak Soonheon, Director General of Health Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare and chief delegate of the government delegation, stated, "Through this conference, we will actively promote Korea's achievements in tobacco control policy to the international community, and by thoroughly reviewing the outcomes of the meeting and reflecting them in domestic policy, we will do our utmost to protect the health of our people."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.