The Conference of Parts (COP11) of the WHO frame agreement for tobacco control will be held in Geneva from November 17 to 22, 2025 and, on the table, several documents have been made that push to reduce the availability of tobacco in the retail channel. Among these is to limit the density of points of sale, prohibit commercial incentives to retailers and remove cigarettes with filter from the market due to their environmental impact. For Spain, where retail sale is articulated through a network of state license tobacconists, the package is a direct wading, as it can involve closures, loss of employment and lower tax revenues if the capillarity of the network is cut.
The European Union goes to the COP “in one voice” after setting a common position and this will be what marks the real scope of any commitment. That is why it is convenient to underline that what is agreed in Geneva does not modify on its own Spanish legislation, since subsequent decisions would be needed in the EU and, where appropriate, internal regulatory changes.
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A rule that affects the swinds
Spain has an nearby network of 13,000 skans, exploited in concessional regime and subjected to state control. To open one of these businesses, among the multitude of licenses and permits, the license for sale (either auction or transfer) must be obtained, which has an approximate cost between 100,000 to 150,000 euros, depending on the location and the premises. The sector recalls that it is mostly family businesses and that an administrative reduction of the network would depreciate these investments and put templates and viability at risk, especially in rural areas.
What do measures in discussion imply, in practice? The reduction of points of sale seeks to lower physical accessibility to tobacco, that is, less stagnant per area or limits per inhabitants and distances to sensitive centers. The prohibition of incentives would cut commercial bonuses and supports that today help sustain margins in an intervened price business. And the removal of filters (raised from an environmental angle) would push the smokers to cigarettes without filter, with doubts in the health field and added regulatory complications.
In this sense, the ponds warn of a triple harmful effect. On the one hand, employment (templates and self -employment), followed by collection (especially for special taxes and ending the canon of the tobacco market) and increased illicit trade if the verified sales legal network disappears. They also explain their control function (age verification and traceability) and warn that any weakening of the regulated channel would favor illegal circuits.
Consensus against qualified majority
The pulse is not only sanitary or economic; It is also procedural. In the previous weeks, Brussels has reopened the debate on whether the common position for these summits must be agreed by consensus or if it is enough with a qualified majority. For Spain, the difference is substantive, since consensus protects the national margin; The qualified majority could drag reluctant states towards tougher positions without sufficient parliamentary debate.
Transparency is in question again. The COP celebrates part of its sessions behind closed doors and the detailed documents are usually published once the decisions are adopted. Until then, the follow -up depends on agendas, drafts and communications. In the immediate calendar, the EU council must close its mandate and then the European delegation will defend that line in Geneva.