Global Forum on Nicotine Conveys Cautious Optimism for Tobacco Harm Reduction

At the Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN), hosted in Liverpool, experts called for the public health and tobacco control fields to unite around a common goal: ending smoking. Over the two days, 30 speakers—eminent in harm reduction, law, science, the stock market, consumer advocacy and other areas—reiterated to hundreds of international delegates that lifesaving technology like vapes and heat-not-burn products (HTPs) should be embraced to empower people to stop their combustible cigarette use. A hesitant sense of optimism pervaded the conference, as tobacco harm reductionists acknowledged that (...)

2021-06-22
filtermag.org

Study Inaccurately Claims Teen Smoking Rates Have Not Dropped Over The Past Two Decades

A recent Lancet study said smoking rates among 13-15-year-olds have remain unchanged in 40% of the surveyed countries between 1999 and 2018. However, these said “smoking rates” inaccurately include the use of safer alternatives such as smokeless tobacco products and e-cigarettes, which should not be considered as smoking. The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journal study, found differing rates of tobacco use across 140 countries. Lead Study author Professor Bo Xi, said there are “still large numbers of young people smoking” despite the decreasing smoking rates in the majority of countries. However to the shock of tobacco harm reduction experts, among these alleged high numbers of smokers, the Professor inaccurately included users of (...)

2021-06-23
vapingpost.com

Could Legalising Snus Tap Into a Huge Potential for Smoking Cessation?

Two startling statistics emerge from a recent survey of smokers in Europe conducted by ETHRA (European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates): nearly one in three (31%) of current smokers would be interested in trying snus if it became legal, but less than 3% are actually snus users. Given the almost incontrovertible evidence from Sweden – the only EU country where snus is legal, for idiosyncratic historical reasons – of the oral format’s success in reducing tobacco-related disease, this huge potential demand seems to represent a huge public health opportunity. If snus became legal EU-wide, then even if only a relatively small fraction of that 31% gave up combustibles in its favour, that would represent (...)

2021-06-23
tobaccointelligence.com

Florida Protected Public Health by Rejecting Vaping Ban

In Florida, the state legislature passed a bill banning e-cigarette flavors. The bill would have killed the state’s vape shops and denied smokers the most popular alternative to cigarettes. Gov. Ron DeSantis, however, listened to Florida vapers and public health experts and vetoed the bill. “While originally conceived as a bill to raise the legal age to buy tobacco to 21 (which is superfluous given this is already mandated by federal law), SB 810 effectively bans tobacco-free vaping flavors used by hundreds of thousands of Floridians as a reduced-risk alternative to cigarettes, which are more dangerous,” Gov. DeSantis said in his veto message.

2021-06-23
reason.org

October’s Vaping Ban Sees Australia Lag Even Further Behind

Asia Pacific’s leading Tobacco Harm Reduction consumer advocacy group has lashed out at the Australian Federal Government for making it increasingly harder for Australia’s 2.3 million daily smokers to quit cigarettes. “Australia is miles behind many others in the Asia Pacific region, and the UK, when it comes to acknowledging vaping’s key role in beating tobacco. Australia is sadly kowtowing to the World Health Organisation, rather than accepting compelling international evidence,” says Nancy Loucas, Coordinator for the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA). It is illegal to sell liquid nicotine in Australia. Its states and territories (...)

2021-06-23
scoop.co.nz

GFN and the future of Tobacco Harm Reduction

As we get closer to the UK’s stated ambition to be ‘smoke free’ by 2030 and subsequently the EU’s recently announced 2040 ‘Beating Cancer’ Plan, which includes the objective of a ‘tobacco free generation’, nicotine industry participants, governments and regulators need to reflect on the technology and policies that will help achieve these goals. GFN is also ahead of the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) COP 9 meeting in November which will give direction on the WHO’s influential global tobacco control policy recommendations for coming years. The WHO’s stance towards THR is regarded by (...)

2021-06-23
fontemventures.com