BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) defines tobacco products as “products entirely or partly made of the leaf tobacco as raw material which are manufactured to be used for smoking, sucking, chewing or snuffing”. However, the emergence of nicotine and alternative tobacco products has challenged existing tobacco products’ definitions in some jurisdictions. Narrow definitions limited to conventional tobacco products may have restricted public health efforts to protect youth from nicotine addiction. This study examines how Signatories and Parties to the WHO FCTC define tobacco products in light of these challenges.
METHODS: We reviewed the definitions of “tobacco products” as specified in the laws of the 189 Signatories and Parties to the WHO FCTC. Data were collected using online search engines and publicly available documents, with tobaccocontrollaws.org serving as our primary source. We analyzed definitions available in or translated into English up to the end of 2024.
RESULTS: Of the 189 Signatories and Parties, 47 provided definitions of tobacco products aligned with the WHO FCTC, while 28 lacked explicit definitions. Thirty-one countries incorporated genetically modified tobacco into their definitions, and 19 included e-cigarettes or electronic nicotine delivery systems. Eleven countries defined nicotine-containing products, five recognized electronic non-nicotine delivery systems, and 28 addressed consumption-related items (e.g., filters, papers, devices) as tobacco products. Four countries included products resembling tobacco and its products in shape, branding, or function, and two included herbal products. However, 13 explicitly excluded medicinal products, such as nicotine replacement therapies.
CONCLUSIONS: Although the WHO FCTC’s definition, established in 2003, provides a baseline, the proliferation of nicotine and tobacco products might have prompted many countries to expand their legal definitions. The emergence of addictive products highlights the need for updated, harmonized definitions. Strengthening these definitions could enhance global tobacco control efforts and mitigate nicotine addiction.