Author: Anna Masser
Jul 15
17 min
More than a billion adults globally smoke combustible cigarettes. The harm caused can be reduced if individuals switch completely to smoke-free products. Availability of a wide range of options can accelerate their switching journey. However, access to products is being restricted by either outright bans or flavour restrictions. Whilst aimed at preventing underage use, this overlooks the needs of adults who smoke. This session will focus on a rigorous, evidence-based evaluation of whether product/flavour bans achieve the objective of reducing youth use of smoke-free products, without undermining adult smokers’ access to effective switching options.
Jul 13
1 hr 29 min
Europe is escalating its war on safer nicotine by pursuing new restrictions on vaping, nicotine pouches, flavors, and affordability despite overwhelming evidence that these products can displace smoking.
Shot on location at GFN 2026 in Warsaw, Poland, Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos describes the policy shift as a “tremendous setback.” He examines why Europe is abandoning common sense, refusing to learn from failed prohibitionist policies, and pushing a market serving millions of former smokers toward illicit trade.
Featuring:
KONSTANTINOS FARSALINOS, M.D.
Cardiologist, Public Health Expert
University of Patras, Greece
University of West Attica, Greece
ecigarette-research.org
Jul 10
35 min
This session explored the future of tobacco control in Iberoamérica, highlighting the consequences of prohibitionist and ideologically driven approaches. It will examine how such policies may overlook key public health and human rights principles by limiting access to lower-risk alternatives and failing to reflect the realities of people who use nicotine. The discussion will also consider the role of tobacco harm reduction (THR) as a more pragmatic, evidence-based approach to improving health outcomes.
Jul 8
1 hr 22 min
Harm reduction approaches are now an established and fundamental part of the response to drug use. While tobacco harm reduction has an expanding evidence base it is often viewed in narrow terms, as if people who smoke exist in a discrete silo.
This has meant the potential of THR to help communities with high smoking prevalence, such as people who use drugs, remains underexplored – despite the evident harms they experience and their impact on health outcomes.
This session brings a drug harm reduction perspective to THR, drawing on frontline experience across a range of environments and sectors, seeking to highlight what works in terms of harm reduction for individuals and communities, plus opportunities for further development.
Jul 6
1 hr 32 min
Can we rethink nicotine addiction? Is the word "addiction" helping—or hurting—the conversation?
In this episode of THR Unfiltered, recorded during the Global Forum on Nicotine 2026 #GFN26 we speak with behavioral scientist Dr. Arielle Selya about the science behind nicotine dependence, addiction, and tobacco harm reduction.
The discussion explores why researchers often prefer the term "dependence" over "addiction," how these concepts differ in scientific and clinical contexts, and why language matters when discussing people who use nicotine.
Jul 3
26 min
The panel will discuss the various forms of prohibition, examine the main objections to prohibition, and ask under what circumstances, if any, prohibitions are justified. We consider the likely consequences of prohibition, especially in the counterintuitive case where prohibition applies to products safer than the market norm. What are the merits of two common strategies for addressing the costs and consequences: a stronger enforcement approach or removing the underlying economic incentives? We will conclude with an engaging finale, in which the panel and audience are asked to provide unwanted advice to the Australian government, Michael Bloomberg and the WHO.
Jul 1
1 hr 25 min
The session will explore the economic dimensions of prohibition through a political economy lens. Drawing on data and insights from multiple markets, it considers how regulatory actions may influence consumer behaviour, demand across product categories and public perceptions. It will also examine potential fiscal effects and the dynamics of illicit trade in response to prohibition. Bringing together policy, data, and market insight, this session explores how prohibition shapes real-world outcomes for consumers, governments, and public health.
Jun 29
1 hr 29 min
Over seven out of every ten vapes sold worldwide now come from the illicit market. Worth an astounding $47 billion USD annually, the global black market for vaping products accounts for 76% of all vapes sold, dwarfing the legal trade and proving restrictions largely ineffective. Shot on location at GFN 2026 in Warsaw, Poland, Shane MacGuill of Euromonitor International explains how taxes, restrictions, product bans, and regulatory barriers are driving consumers into illicit markets around the world.
Featuring:
SHANE MACGUILL
Global Lead, Nicotine & Cannabis
Euromonitor International
euromonitor.com
@ShaneMacGuill
Jun 26
27 min
Safer nicotine products are increasingly popular for assisting those quitting smoking. Evidence continues to support the game-changing effect this can have on individual and community health. Some questions emerge from this. What should be the role of public health in this? Why do some public health professionals continue to ignore or dismiss the emerging evidence? Does ideology cloud judgements? Should personal choice and freedom be a priority? What legitimate role is there for regulation in this area?
Jun 24
1 hr 21 min
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