Nicotine Science and Policy
By Harry Shapiro Aug. 13, 2026
Harry's blog 134: Filtering out lies and misinformation
The only major global journal focused on harm reduction has gone bust. Since 2017, Filter has advocated through journalism for rational and compassionate approaches to drug use, drug policy and human rights, while also standing out for its coverage of tobacco harm reduction. Its closure is a significant loss - particularly at a time when well-funded opponents of tobacco harm reduction continue to thrive.
September 24, 2026 by substack.com
Teen Vaping Is Falling in Pennsylvania...so why does the state still say it is skyrocketing
Pennsylvania’s teen vaping trend tells a less dramatic story than many policy campaigns suggest. Youth use is falling, yet the political response often remains locked in crisis mode, with restrictions aimed at a problem that may already be moving in the right direction. That matters because outdated alarm can distort priorities and spill over onto adults who smoke. Prevention should follow the data, not preserve a panic after the trend has changed.
14.10% of the adult population are current smokers. There are approximately 39.8 million current smokers in United States 17.10% of men are current smokers but only 11.10% of women.
SOURCE: GSTHR
September 24, 2026 by gfn.tv
France Banned Nicotine Pouches! What Happens Next?
France has chosen to close the door on nicotine pouches, but the demand they answered will not vanish with the ban. Adult smokers and nicotine users may now be pushed towards cross-border purchases, informal supply or the one product still widely available: cigarettes. That is the weakness of treating smoke-free alternatives as threats instead of regulating them as part of a risk hierarchy. The real test comes next — whether the ban reduces harm, or simply moves it somewhere less visible.
28.30% of the adult population are current smokers. There are approximately 15.7 million current smokers in France.
SOURCE: GSTHR
September 24, 2026 by substack.com
Knowledge is Power
Knowledge is power in tobacco harm reduction because it gives smokers something more useful than fear. Understanding combustion, nicotine, relative risk and switching can change the choices people believe are available to them. Poor information keeps cigarettes protected by confusion, while clear information helps adults see a route away from the most harmful product. Public health should not be afraid of informed consumers; it should depend on them.
September 24, 2026 by c2cjournal.ca
Endgame to Failure: How the Zero-Tolerance Campaign Against Nicotine Will Backfire
Zero tolerance sounds clean until it meets real life. People do not stop wanting nicotine because policy declares the end of nicotine; they move towards whatever remains available, affordable and believable. That can mean illicit markets, continued smoking or mistrust of public health advice that refuses to distinguish between risk levels. A strategy built on eliminating nicotine may backfire unless it first deals honestly with why safer alternatives exist.
September 23, 2026 by 2firsts.com
Can Nicotine Be Replaced? 6-MN Is Already on the Market While Key Human Evidence Is Still Missing
A nicotine substitute entering the market before key human evidence is available should make regulators ask better questions, not reach for easy assumptions. New molecules such as 6-methyl nicotine may sit outside familiar tobacco and nicotine frameworks, but that does not make them automatically safer, riskier or irrelevant. The priority should be transparent testing, pharmacology, exposure data and real-world monitoring before public health claims are made. Innovation can support harm reduction only when the evidence keeps pace with the product.
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Blogs
Harry's blog 134: Filtering out lies and misinformation
The only major global journal focused on harm reduction has gone bust. Since 2017, Filter has advocated through journalism for rational and compassionate approaches to drug use, drug policy and human rights, while also standing out for its coverage of tobacco harm reduction. Its closure is a significant loss - particularly at a time when well-funded opponents of tobacco harm reduction continue to thrive.
Harry’s blog 133: Silence is consent
Two tobacco control consultations that demand your attention
I’m sure there are many of you like me who are deeply cynical about public consultations. They often feel like political tick box exercises allowing the issuing authority from local councils to international organisations to say they have ‘consulted with the people’, when in truth they knew exactly what they were going to do from the get-go.
Harry’s Blog 132: “Zyn! Went The Strings Of My Heart” (with apologies to Judy Garland)
FDA approval of 20 nicotine pouch products is another step forward for tobacco harm reduction
The FDA in the U.S. has granted marketing authorisation for Zyn nicotine pouch products (five variations on mint plus five other flavours in two different strengths).
In its letter to PMI (who own Zyn manufacturers Swedish Match), the FDA wrote:
Based on our review of your MRTPAs [Modified Risk Tobacco Applications] we determined that the proposed modified risk tobacco products, …as actually used by consumers would significantly reduce harm and the risk of tobacco-related disease to individual tobacco users and benefit the health of the population as a whole, taking into account both users of tobacco products and persons who do not currently use tobacco products. Therefore, we authorize marketing of the tobacco products as modified risk tobacco products with the following modified risk information – “Using ZYN instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema and chronic bronchitis”.