International Cooperation: Why Global Nicotine Policy Needs Coordination—and Why It's So Hard
Nicotine products cross borders. Regulation doesn't. The result: regulatory arbitrage, cross-border illicit trade, and inconsistent consumer protections. International cooperation is essential—and undermined by the ideological divisions in global tobacco control.
A vaping product manufactured in China, sold through a website in Malaysia, shipped to a consumer in Australia—this is a transaction that crosses three regulatory jurisdictions, none of which can effectively govern it alone. **International cooperation on nicotine regulation is essential: common product standards, coordinated enforcement, shared data. The FCTC should be the vehicle for cooperation—but its hostility to harm reduction has made it unsuitable. The global nicotine regulatory landscape will remain fragmented until the global tobacco control framework adapts.**
