Stories

Harm reduction feels different for smokers because tobacco control has often treated nicotine use as a moral problem rather than a risk continuum. People who smoke need realistic ways to reduce exposure to the harms of combustion, especially after repeated quit attempts. Safer nicotine products do not remove every risk, but they can change the scale of harm dramatically. Public health should meet smokers with practical options, not only expectations of abstinence.

Australia’s nicotine policy has become a case study in disinformation with real-world consequences. Smokers are told to quit, yet lower-risk alternatives are restricted, misrepresented or pushed into channels with less oversight. That confusion protects cigarettes more than it protects public health. Evidence-based communication should explain relative risk clearly, support adult switching and stop treating harm reduction as a threat to tobacco control.

A patient who still smokes is not a failure of character. It may be a sign that the advice, tools or assumptions around quitting are not meeting the reality of dependence. Clinicians can make a difference by asking what has already been tried, what keeps the cigarette in place, and whether lower-risk nicotine options could support a move away from combustion. Smoking cessation works better when care starts with the person, not the expectation that one method should work for everyone.

In line with what tobacco harm reduction experts have been suggesting all along, Australia’s opposition party wants to slash tobacco taxes and legalise regulated vapes and nicotine pouches to undermine the country’s booming black market.

This multi-site clinical trial will generate data on the efficacy of tirzepatide for smoking cessation and associated outcomes (e.g., post-cessation weight gain) in treatment-seeking people who smoke (PWS) with overweight or obesity. A sample of (...)

At GTNF 2026 in Lisbon, Chris Greer, senior vice president for regulatory and external affairs at Stryk Brands, moderated a panel examining how companies can navigate an increasingly fragmented global trade environment. “Surviving in a Global Trade System” focused on cross-border challenges involving taxes, tariffs, regulation, movement of goods and services, and labor, with panelists arguing that increasingly localized requirements are creating high costs and complexity for businesses.

Labor is cracking down on the illicit tobacco trade with new offences targeting organised crime, distributors and retailers selling illegal cigarettes.

The changes would also make it easier to seize the profits and assets of criminals involved in the black market.

Government vaping restrictions could cost public health up to £4.5 billion, according to Elfbar, a leading smoking cessation brand in the UK.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has selected Bret Koplow, Ph.D., J.D., as director of the Center for Tobacco Products, giving the center a permanent leader with more than a decade of legal, policy, and regulatory experience at the agency. Koplow has served at FDA since 2011, including as senior counselor to the FDA commissioner, where he focused on regulatory, policy, and operational matters involving tobacco products.

Nicotine pouches suit adults who prioritise a compact, vapour-free option with no charging or maintenance. Vaping products suit adults who value flavour range, an inhaled experience and the familiarity of a device-based routine. Many adult nicotine users may see a role for both, using a vape as their main format and pouches when vaping is not practical.