Harry Shapiro

Harry’s blog 129: Prohibition: the lessons we never learn

Sept. 11, 2025

Australia’s unnecessary nicotine war lights up,As reported on the website of ALIVE, the Australian vaping advocacy movement, “Australia's ongoing battle against tobacco has led to some of the...

Harry’s blog 128: Behind the smoke and mirrors: the continuing challenge of tobacco harm reduction.

July 15, 2025

“If you assume that there is no hope, you guarantee there will be no hope”. Noam ChomskyI recently returned from the 12th annual Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN) conference in Warsaw. My first visit...

Harry’s blog 127: The truth is still out there.

March 19, 2025

A free self-guided introduction to tobacco harm reduction from K•A•C aims to raise awareness of the approach among a wider community of policymakers, researchers, health professionals – and adult ...

Harry’s blog 126: Tobacco harm reduction and ‘Podsnappery’

Jan. 9, 2025

Mr Podsnap is a minor character in Charles Dickens’ novel Our Mutual Friend. Mr Podsnap was “well to do, and stood very high in Mr. Podsnap's opinion”. He was noted for his ignorant and wanto...

Harry’s blog 125: Deal with what’s in front of you

Dec. 9, 2024

The introduction to the government’s 294-page risk assessment of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill which has yet to become law as it passes through the various stages of parliamentary procedure states:In...

Harry’s blog 124: Giving a voice to the voiceless.

Dec. 2, 2024

Imagine the outcome if your local park football team took on Real Madrid. This is equivalent to the challenge faced by tobacco harm reduction consumer activists trying to take on the well-funded a...

Harry’s blog 123: It was twenty years ago today/Hon Lik showed a brand-new way

May 29, 2024

New report to map the journey of tobacco harm reductionYes, it has been a while since the last blog, but the main reason is the need to push on with the next Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction...

Harry’s blog 122: Tobacco harm reduction is a human rights issue

Nov. 2, 2023

A guiding principle of the World Health Organization (WHO) established in 1948, was the universal right to health. Although not expressed in these terms, the implication is that nobody gets left b...

Harry’s blog 121: International tobacco control and the search for intelligent life

Oct. 17, 2023

KAC has published an updated version of our Briefing Paper on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control’s Conference of the Parties (FCTC COP) meeting due to take place in Panama in November. Wh...

Harry’s blog 120: Bent as a boomerang: vaping politics in Australia.

Aug. 31, 2023

Dr Colin Mendelsohn is a well-respected tobacco harm reduction expert who wrote an article for the Australian website Education HQ advising schools on strategies to deal with vaping among students...