Commentary
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- Category: Neil Mckeganey
Neil McKeganey, Christopher Russell | 27 September 2016
In the past few days, several pro-tobacco harm reduction academics and scientists who are registered to attend the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF) in Brussels, Belgium this week (27-29 September), received a letter signed by two major anti-smoking organisations – the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) and the U.S.-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK). This letter expressed to the recipients, including one of the authors of this blog (CR), the signatories’ ‘strong concern over the participation of renowned academics’ at a conference that is largely funded by the tobacco industry.
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- Category: Neil Mckeganey
Neil McKeganey | 6 September 2016
When it comes to policies aimed at reducing the harm of smoking there is a truth that daren’t be spoken, namely that many smokers actually enjoy smoking. In the current climate of tobacco control policies aiming for a tobacco free world, the realization that many people want to continue to engage in a behaviour that they know to be harmful is hard to acknowledge.
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- Category: Nicotine Science & Policy
Nicotine Science & Policy | 17 August 2016
Turkey has for many years implemented stringent efforts to reduce smoking rates. Smoke-free policies, a two hundred per cent price increase on cigarettes and comprehensive stop-smoking services have all been introduced in the last decade; all significant actions from a country known for the saying ”Smoking like a Turk”.
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- Category: Nicotine Science & Policy
Nicotine Science & Policy | updated 31 August 2016
Both Australia and New Zealand have legislation that was introduced before the introduction of e-cigarettes and which effectively makes possession of nicotine (Australia) or nicotine-containing e-cigarettes (NZ) illegal. In Australia there is a proposal to amend the scheduling of nicotine to make sale, possession and use of nicotine legal; in New Zealand the Ministry of Health proposes making nicotine e-cigarettes legal consumer products. Comments on both proposals are invited.
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- Category: Miroslaw Dworniczak
NSP Correspondent - Mirosław Dworniczak | 20 July 2016
On July 8th the Polish Parliament passed an act transposing the EU Tobacco Product Directive (TPD) into national law, some weeks after the mandated date of May 20th. This marks the end of a legislative process that started two years ago.
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- Category: Chris Ford
Chris Ford | 15 July 2016
Dr Chris Ford, the Clinical Director of International Doctors for Healthier Drug Policies, recently attended the Global Forum on Nicotine. Here are some thoughts from her and her colleagues afterwards.
The dogma that has pervaded global drug policy over the last fifty years is hard to comprehend. People have been using substances to alter the way they feel for thousands of years and there is no indication that this will ever stop. Like we do for all other potentially hazardous activities, provision of information and tools to reduce potential harms would be the action of a responsible and caring society.
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- Category: Harry Shapiro
Harry Sharpio | 13 July 2016
Having spent over 35 years working in the field of illegal drugs, this was my first foray into the world of tobacco or more specifically the current worldwide controversy over e-cigarettes. What I learnt from my two days at the conference was both fascinating and appalling.
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- Category: Miroslaw Dworniczak
NSP Correspondent - Mirosław Dworniczak | 01 June 2016
Glycerine (glycerol, 1,2,3-propanetriol) is one of the main ingredients of e-cigarette liquid. Most people are familiar with glycerine, as it is widely used in food and pharmaceuticals. It acts as a solvent, humectant and sometimes as a sweetener. Here is a chemical model of glycerine.
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- Category: Riccardo Polosa
"Persisting long term benefits of smoking abstinence and reduction in asthmatic smokers who have switched to electronic cigarettes" - is the title of a study conducted by the research group led by Prof Riccardo Polosa at the University of Catania, and recently published in Discovery Medicine.
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- Category: Neil Mckeganey
Neil McKeganey, Christopher Russell | 28 April 2016
The publication by the Royal College of Physicians of a report “Nicotine without Smoke: Tobacco Harm Reduction” approbating the use of e-cigarettes as a route out of smoking conventional cigarettes affirms a finding that has been highlighted by researchers for a number of years now. This report is welcome nevertheless as an objective contribution to a debate that has become increasingly personalised and divisive with tobacco control advocates repeatedly advising that e-cigarettes should be regulated as least as tightly as conventional cigarettes.