Nicotine Science and Policy
By Harry Shapiro Aug. 4, 2026
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.
August 13, 2026 by worldvapersalliance.com
EU Health Commissioner Várhelyi Continues Misinformation Push on Nicotine
Misinformation from senior health officials carries real consequences. When nicotine is presented without a clear distinction between dependence, combustion and disease risk, smokers may be left believing that safer alternatives offer no meaningful benefit. That confusion does not protect public health; it protects the status quo in which cigarettes remain familiar and widely available. European nicotine policy needs accuracy from the top, especially when millions of adults still smoke.
August 13, 2026 by disobedientmargins.com
When What Burns Seems Cleaner Than What Produces No Smoke
When the product that burns begins to look “cleaner” than the product that reduces smoke exposure, something has gone wrong in public understanding. Risk perception can be distorted by language, imagery and regulation until cigarettes feel familiar while safer alternatives feel suspect. That inversion matters because smokers may avoid switching if the lower-risk option is framed as the greater threat. Public health should correct that confusion, not reinforce it.
August 12, 2026 by gfn.tv
How Prohibition Turned Vaping Into a Illicit Business? | GFN Voices 2026 #3
Vaping did not become an illicit business because demand disappeared. It became one where prohibition made legal access harder, pushed consumers towards informal supply and weakened the role of accountable retailers. Once safer nicotine products move outside regulated channels, product standards, age controls and consumer protection become harder to enforce. The lesson is clear: banning a market does not remove it — it changes who controls it.
August 12, 2026 by regulatorwatch.com
Playing Offense | U.S. Vape Industry Rejects All-or-Nothing Regulation | RegWatch
All-or-nothing regulation leaves little room for the adults caught between smoking and quitting. The US vape industry’s pushback reflects a broader problem: when legal products are treated as unacceptable unless they meet impossible standards, cigarettes remain the most stable option on the market. Regulation should demand responsibility, evidence and enforcement without closing the door on products that help smokers switch. Public health needs standards that reduce harm, not rules that make only prohibition seem acceptable.
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
August 12, 2026 by tobaccoharmreduction.net
Tobacco Harm Reduction Women: South Africa's Gap
Women’s smoking is often shaped by factors that generic tobacco policy fails to see: stress, stigma, caregiving, mental health, poverty and unequal access to support. Tobacco harm reduction can offer another route for women who have not been reached by conventional cessation alone. That means recognising different patterns of use, different barriers to quitting and the need for non-judgemental information about lower-risk alternatives. Public health becomes stronger when it stops treating smokers as one uniform group.
23.30% of the adult population are current smokers. There are approximately 10.9 million current smokers in South Africa 39.30% of men are current smokers but only 8.50% of women.
SOURCE: GSTHR
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Blogs
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”.
Harry’s Blog 131: Hidden harms
New publications from K•A•C discuss the challenge of smoking in treatment services caring for those who are HIV positive or coping with drug problems.
Smoking rates among those who are HIV positive and those who use drugs (as well as those with mental health problems where there may well be overlap) are anything from two to four times higher than the general adult smoking rates of most developed countries. One study of those receiving opiate substitute treatment recorded a smoking prevalence rate of 85%. Why should this be?