International Women's Day (IWD) 2025

#WomenInTHR #IWD25

Using Our Voices

Today is International Women's Day. I wanted to know more about this day and found a timeline that helped me understand its importance.

Since becoming a tobacco (read “smoking tobacco”) harm reduction advocate in 2014, many outstanding women have crossed my path.

I found myself thinking of the many ways women are involved in the nicotine space after reading the latest in Filter. “The World Needs Gender-Specific Tobacco Harm Reduction” reminded me of the many ways that women who smoke can be stigmatized and how many of them have limited access to health care and smoking cessation services. The article gave innovative examples of how, with a bit of training, existing programs can be utilized to reach out to women and their families to help them stop smoking.

At this time last year, I was in Washington, D.C., where I had spoken at a Congressional Caucus about women’s health and reducing the harm from smoking tobacco. During my free time there, I sat in my hotel room, expanding on my presentation and turning it into an op-ed.

Filter published that piece on International Women’s Day 2024. In “It’s Critically Important to Tell Women the Truth About Nicotine,” I discussed misperceptions and misinformation. This never-ending problem is causing great harm to people who smoke, and I dove into the ways it specifically harms women.

I’ll be returning to DC in April. Can you guess what topic the panel I’ll be on will be talking about? After you guess, you can check your answer here.

There are many incredible women in the nicotine space, including advocates, academics, journalists, regulators, lawmakers, healthcare providers, public health workers, and business owners. They demand they be given a voice in the debate. They speak for women from all walks of life and worldwide. They see how inequitable things are and push for change, knowing what a difference harm reduction can make in those women's lives.

Women from around the globe are encouraging seed planting and bridge building, hoping to give everyone a seat at the table and the opportunity to collaborate to reduce the death and disease caused by smoking. We are fed up with crying over the graves of our loved ones, all who suffered greatly and left us too soon because they smoked.

It is hard to grasp large numbers and visualize them. How do you picture the millions of people who die from smoking? How do you visualize all the children exposed to secondhand smoke that live lives that will make them high risk to smoke themselves?

How do we tally the women researching ways to help people who smoke and the products that might help them or the women on the front lines helping people to stop smoking? I don’t know of any way to count all the women who fill the shoes of advocates and activists championing harm reduction because they know it works and saves lives.

Because of their actions, each of these women initiates a chain reaction that spreads like the ripples we see when we throw a rock into the lake, a circle of love and caring that radiates out from their actions.

While I have no way of counting all the women mentioned above, I do have a way to show you the ripple effect that the actions of two women can have on the lives of the people important to them and the lives of people of all ages. I can share Kathy’s story with you, and it will throw you into the center of the “youth vs. adults” debate, but not in the way you usually hear about.

Youth and Young Adults - It’s a Hot Topic

(For today, that should say “Girls and Young Women - It’s a Hot Topic!”)

Rarely is there a conversation about nicotine that doesn’t focus on youth and young adults. The older people are, the less we talk about them. I think it’s a shame that we don’t do what we can to help the older folks. It is a precious gift for a child to have the love and support of family elders—elders healthy enough to be actively involved in that child’s life.

Kathy married her high school sweetheart a few weeks after graduation. She was only 20 when she first came to our vape shop. At the time, the legal minimum sale age for nicotine products was 18.

Kathy started smoking when she was 15. Her husband Robbie was 16 when he started smoking. Both of them came from families where almost everyone smoked. One of those family traditions all families would be better off without.

Kathy was pregnant when she came to see us to seek help to quit smoking. She had tried cold turkey and then the nicotine patch, but both times, she could not stop smoking. She wanted what was best for her baby and was determined to try quitting smoking again.

After spending 45 minutes with us, she left with a vape device and a flavored liquid she liked. She also left well-informed on essential things like how to properly operate her device, change the coils, and ensure battery safety, as well as tips to help her transition from smoking to vaping.

A week later, Kathy returned to the vape shop and brought her husband, Robbie. Kathy hadn’t smoked since the 2nd day of vaping. Robbie was so impressed with her success that he wanted to quit smoking, too. About 30 minutes later, they left with Robbie owning his device, a flavor he liked, and slightly higher nicotine than Kathy tried because he smoked twice as much as she did.

It took Robbie about two months to quit smoking altogether. When they stopped by the shop for more supplies, we gave him extra tips to help him transition. He was proud of himself for quitting.

Kathy went out for coffee with her mom and grandmother once a month. A couple of months after her daughter was born, she stopped by the shop to get more e-liquid, bringing the ladies with her. They hung out on the couch and had coffee with me.

To our surprise, Kathy’s mom got up and examined the devices in the display case. Suddenly, she decided she should quit smoking, too. She dual used for six months. After trying two different devices, several flavors and nicotine strengths, she hit what she called the “sweet spot,” the perfect combination that worked for her.

The following year, Kathy’s grandma also bought a device. She had cut back to half a pack of cigarettes per day on her own but needed a little help to get to not smoking. She chose a smaller, less complicated device and a tobacco-flavored liquid. As the ladies sat on the couch visiting, Kathy’s grandma set her new device on the coffee table, went outside, smoked a cigarette, returned, and threw the rest of her pack of smokes in the trash. She announced she was done smoking.

She wasn’t kidding! She never smoked again.

Kathy’s dad and grandpa soon followed suit and also quit smoking. Her dad quit, thanks to his insurance paying for the prescription for verenacline. He never took up vaping as a part of his quitting journey. Kathy’s grandpa smoked a pipe and didn’t want to give it up until I showed him a picture of an e-pipe that he could vape. That did the trick, and he had me order him one. He used it for a few months, titrated down to zero nicotine liquid, and then quit using the e-pipe.

Eventually, Robbie’s parents joined in on the fun when Robbie bought them their first devices as a Christmas gift. One future mother’s journey to provide a healthier environment for her unborn child led to eight adults quitting smoking, and that sweet baby growing up in a smoke-free home, surrounded by people healthy enough to be actively involved in her life.

The next time you hear people screaming their panic over young adults who vape, I’d like you to pause for one minute and think of Kathy and her baby. One child from the group of youth we’re not talking about—children of people who smoke. Remember them? We used to talk about them a lot!

I love thinking about Kathy and Robbie’s child surrounded by nonsmoking parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents—four generations, winning together, living a smoke-free life.

That story began with one woman who wanted to do better for her family and the woman who helped her achieve that goal.

#NeverGiveUp! Happy International Women’s Day!

Until next time…

PS: I was born in the late 1950s. Many things have changed for the better for women since then, but we still have a long way to go. I worry that recent developments here in the US might be pushing us backward instead of forward. I hope my fears aren’t warranted. May women have their voices heard and experience opportunities to participate in the effort to improve public health.