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Global South Voice: Why LMIC Perspectives Are Missing From Nicotine Policy
Global nicotine policy is dominated by high-income countries and institutions. LMIC perspectives—the countries where smoking is most prevalent and cessation support is least available—are systematically underrepresented.
The FCTC Conference of the Parties is dominated by high-income delegations with the resources to attend and the expertise to negotiate. LMIC voices are underrepresented—and the policies that result reflect the priorities of the countries where smoking is declining, not the countries where it's rising. **The exclusion of LMIC perspectives from global nicotine policy is a structural injustice. The countries where the tobacco epidemic is most severe have the least influence over the policies that are supposed to address it.**
