update December 2024
The International Network of Nicotine Consumers (INNCO) describes itself as a non-profit organization established in Switzerland and Denmark, comprising 32 organizations from around the world, representing the interests of the users of recreational nicotine products. It has direct links with the tobacco industry. It was a grantee of the Philip Morris-funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, (now renamed Global Alliance to End Smoking) between November 2018 to March 2023.1
Its motto, “Nothing about us without us” insists on the inclusion of nicotine consumers in discussions around electronic smoking devices and other recreational nicotine products which it asserts are “safer options” compared to conventional tobacco products, for people who would not otherwise quit. It asserts that harm tobacco harm reduction options are a human right and often downplay legitimate concerns about the health effects of nicotine as misinformation. It refers to nicotine as a mild stimulant, and often directly attacks the World Health Organization and NGOs like Bloomberg Philanthropies for increasing awareness on the harms of nicotine.1,2 In January 2023, INNCO retracted an open letter from its former Executive Direct, Charles Gardner, (April 2021–June 2023) addressed to Michael Bloomberg for its “aggressive tone.”4
“Nothing about us without us” was co-opted from HIV activism in the 1980s and is considered a cornerstone of legitimate harm reduction in public health.
The idea of a consumer group being made specifically to interfere in tobacco control policy was conceived in 2016 at a meeting of the Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN) by Knowledge Action Change (KAC). KAC itself was funded by the FSFW which operates on a large seed grant from Philip Morris International.
INNCO, the consumer organization borne out of the deliberations at the GFN, interfered in at least the Seventh to Ninth Sessions of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control with funding from the Global Action to End Smoking.
End Cigarette Smoke Thailand and The Vapers Philippines, two front groups of the tobacco industry, used to be members of INNCO. In 2022 when the Philippines passed the retrogressive vape bill that legalized the manufacture and sales of e-cigarettes and lowered the purchase age from 21 years to 18 years, INNCO issued a press statement congratulating the Philippines government for “taking a huge leap towards preserving the health of millions”. Currently, INNCO does not have any members from the ASEAN region.
[1] Global Action to End Smoking. (n.d.). International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organizations (Denmark). https://globalactiontoendsmoking.org/grants/awarded-grants/international-network-of-nicotine-consumer-organisations-268/
[2] INNCO. (n.d.). Main Landing Page. https://innco.org/
[3] INNCO. (n.d.). About Us. https://innco.org/about-innco/
[4] INNCO. (28 January 2023). Notice of Retraction. https://innco.org/notice-of-retraction/