World No Tobacco Day and the Public Health Industry That Lost the Plot
May 18, 2026 by substack.com
World No Tobacco Day and the Public Health Industry That Lost the Plot
Understanding nicotine-related risk requires distinguishing between the harms caused by nicotine itself and those caused primarily by tobacco combustion. Public debate and media coverage often present nicotine as uniformly harmful, despite substantial differences in risk profiles between combustible and non-combustible products. Researchers and harm reduction advocates increasingly argue that inaccurate risk perception may contribute to persistent smoking by discouraging smokers from switching to lower-risk alternatives. Improving public understanding of relative risk remains a central challenge in evidence-based tobacco harm reduction and public health communication.
