New Category: Healthcare
Thinking 'bout THR Newsletter July 16-24, 2025
Launching a new newsletter category
A new section, Healthcare News & Views, will appear in newsletters from time to time. If you come across anything interesting, please share it with me for consideration for inclusion in a future newsletter.
I am crunched for time this week. In the middle of several projects, so instead of a commentary, I’ll start this newsletter with the new section.
I’ll kick it off with an interesting development in Sweden that pertains to funding for NGOs that help people stop smoking (I consider quit smoking services a part of “healthcare”).
“New focus: harm reduction, not prohibition:”
Moralism in a storm – A Non Smoking Generation is threatened by withdrawn support. “From 1 August 2025, new rules will be introduced for government grants to non-profit organizations in the tobacco and nicotine sector. The regulation SFS 2025:665 shifts the focus from consumption reduction to harm prevention – a change that threatens organizations such as Tobaksfakta, CAN and A Non Smoking Generation. When the new grant regulation comes into force, the basis for state support will change. Organizations that have previously been able to receive grants to work against all tobacco and nicotine use must now instead demonstrate that they are conducting preventive work that reduces actual medical and social harms – not necessarily the actual use of tobacco, snus, white snus, etc.” (Google Translate)
Why Dr. Mark Tyndall Is Taking a Stand for Tobacco Harm Reduction. “The tobacco harm reduction movement has long needed doctors to unapologetically make the case that it’s a matter of life and death to get safer nicotine products to the most vulnerable groups of people who smoke. Mark Tyndall is the ideal doctor. He has the bonafides and he brings the receipts.”
Now You See It, Now You Don’t. Dr Joe Kosterich: “Research which was potentially embarrassing to the government mysteriously disappeared after 48 hours online. Why could this be? What was found?” (Video)
How the Need for Vapes Struck Me—and Why They’re Still Vilified. “As a community-based researcher, I always tried to involve community members in the planning, conduct and presentation of the research. Over the years I learned to embrace the “nothing about us without us” philosophy…Within the first three months of forming the advisory group, we lost three out of eight members to smoking-related diseases.”
Are doctors and tobacco users unaware of basic facts about harm reduction? “The data are pretty clear that the harm reduction enthusiasts are correct when they claim that massive numbers of people have beliefs widely contradicting the body of scientific evidence. Both common sense and academic research suggest that the lack of awareness of relative risk worsens health outcomes for consumers…A number of organizations generally trusted by the public on important health-related issues like infectious diseases and air pollution spread false claims related to the continuum of risk in their public communications.”
FIGHT AGAINST SMOKING/ "The data speaks clearly: the EU cannot put e-cigs on par with traditional cigarettes." “Fabio Beatrice, emeritus head physician at the San Giovanni Bosco Hospital in Turin, explains this. He signed an appeal to the EU to clarify that smokeless products cannot be placed on the same level as commonly used cigarettes. The scientific data indicating how to act are available; it's up to decision-makers to establish new policies to reduce smoking.”
Author of the Month: Dr. Mark Tyndall shares his insights on Vaping. “Dr. Mark Tyndall has spent decades on the front lines of public health, supporting marginalized communities and making advancements in harm reduction. In this candid interview he discusses his latest book, Vaping: Behind the Smoke and Fears, which makes the case for vaping as a misunderstood but potentially life-saving alternative to smoking.”
Guides for Healthcare and Social Services Professionals. A collection of educational materials for those who advise people on ways to quit smoking.
Until next time…
P.S.: I like it when people raise an issue and give others a voice! More of this, please. Response from Investigators of Clinical Trial of Very Low Nicotine Cigarettes. “For the purposes of fairness and completeness, I am sharing the response from study authors to my criticism of the recently published clinical trial of very low nicotine cigarettes.”
Coming soon! My many thoughts about the JUUL MGO, the PMTA process, and the things that contribute to MGOs taking YEARS instead of 180 days.
FDA Authorizes JUUL Labs ENDS Products for U.S. Market. “FDA’s decision to now grant formal marketing authorization to the JUUL products is significant not only for JUUL Labs but for the broader vapor industry. This marks only the third time FDA has authorized menthol-flavored ENDS products through the PMTA pathway. The menthol-flavored NJOY Daily Extra disposable and the NJOY ACE Pod ENDS products were previously authorized by FDA. All other FDA authorized ENDS are tobacco-flavored.”
It’s Time to Clear the Air on Juul. “Juul spent the last five years in purgatory thanks to its popularity with teens. With the FDA’s authorization last week, it can finally be seen for what it’s always been: a harm-reduction device.”
Trump Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Can Protect Access to Vaping. “The FDA can stop this from happening. It has the power to reward the small businesses doing the right thing and help the economy flourish. The FDA can save flavored vaping, and in turn, save millions of Americans.”
Swapping Cigarettes for Vapes or HTP Rapidly Boosts Fitness, Study Finds. “People who switch from smoking to vapes or heated tobacco products can improve their fitness levels in as little as four weeks, a new study has found. Besides being beneficial in itself, the researchers say this could be a persuasive motivation for younger people, especially, to swap cigarettes for safer nicotine options.”
expert reaction to study suggesting vapes are more effective for quitting smoking than gum or lozenges including in disadvantaged groups. Prof Leonie Brose, Professor of Addictions & Public Health at King’s College London, and Prof Peter Hajek, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director of the Health and Lifestyle Research Unit, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL).
New study: Vaping three times more effective than NRT for disadvantaged smokers. “These findings carry powerful implications for public health and social justice. Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and illness in Australia, but its harms fall hardest on our most vulnerable communities.”
Post # 7. In vitro and in vivo systems exposed to aerosol generated by high powered vape devices. “Despite their limitations, studies on exposure of in vitro and in vivo systems to vape aerosols are very important tools to understand the safety profile of vaping. Together with the application of appropriate biological protocols, experimental procedures and techniques, the appropriate experimental procedures to generate these aerosols is a crucial component to determine the quality of these studies.”
R Street Institute Research Commentary Outreach Events Connect with R Street Policy Studies Harm Reduction The Impact of Tobacco Harm Reduction on Smoking: An Analysis of the United States, Japan, and Türkiye. “These three national case studies highlight that there is not a single pathway toward improving public health—but they also underscore that regulatory openness to innovation, alongside strong consumer protections, is essential for long-term progress.”
Tackle Rising Vaping Risk Misperceptions. “University College London researchers Sarah Jackson, Katherine East, and Jamie Brown have penned an article for the British Medical Journal in conjunction with Hazel Cheeseman, the CEO of Action on Smoking and Health, responding to the study One in 20 adults in England now smoke cigarettes and vape, study finds. They argue that efforts to reduce smoking rates are being jeopardised by the increasing levels of people not appreciating that vapes are far safer than cigarette smoking.”
Why People Are Swapping Vapes For Cigarettes Despite The Risks. “The FDA however, hasn't approved of vapes for this use in the U.S. The science repeatedly says they’re less damaging than cigarettes. And yet, people are now switching back to smoking in an attempt to cut out vaping for good. What’s more, they’re convinced it’s better for them.”
The Paradox of Risk: Why We Fear the Wrong Things. “…Perhaps that's the lesson: not to eliminate risk, but to understand it. To recognize our psychological biases while making choices based on evidence rather than emotion. To develop the skill of contextualizing risks— comparing them to other risks we readily accept, questioning whether marketed "solutions" are truly improvements, and focusing our limited worry on things that genuinely matter.”
Designing With, Not For: Stakeholder-Centered Approaches to Disability Health Data. “These insights reinforced that public health action can be stronger, more accurate, and more equitable when the whole community has a seat at the table….By continuing to elevate lived experiences, break down silos, and invest in collaborative solutions, jurisdictions can help ensure that disability data becomes not only more available but also more actionable and person-centered.”
THR Voices Rise: A Powerful Week for Harm Reduction. “It’s been a strong week for tobacco harm reduction around the world. Advocates have been stepping up—speaking at hearings, publishing hard-hitting blogs, and challenging stigma where it matters most.”
NAMI. “Fortunately, today’s portrayals are shifting toward empathy, dignity, and hope. Learn how storytelling can change stigma.” (About mental health, but it rings some nicotine bells.)
HSE QUIT Team. “Vaping or e-cigarettes can impact your heart, lungs, and other organs. It’s not a recommended method for quitting smoking and is not a healthier alternative to smoking.” (Note: This tweet links to their website, which says, “Smoking tobacco is extremely dangerous. Vaping delivers nicotine without many of the toxins in cigarettes. Compared to cigarettes, vaping may be less harmful. But vaping is not harm-free.”) [emphasis added]
From X (Formerly Twitter). These notes are now public, and anyone can vote on them.
New York Post. “Exposure to vaping while pregnant can change your baby’s face and skull shape — even without nicotine.”
Oliver Varhelyi (Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare - Brussels, Belgium) “For the first time ever, we acknowledge that new #tobacco and nicotine products pose health risks comparable to traditional ones. With new market developments and the need to protect future generations, rates should be further assessed.”
Oliver Varhelyi “My statement on the next #MFF” (The graphic with the tweet includes information like what is stated in the other tweet with a Community Note.)
Clearing The Air | Debunking Nicotine Bias from Bloomberg to Brussels | RegWatch. “We’re entering a period of significant risk in the European Union, warns Peter Beckett.”
Joe Gitchell - Joe’s thread about JUUL’s MGO. What As Jody Lanard MD said, “It’s not common for a consultant to one “side” of a case to nevertheless present the case for both sides. Joe Gitchell is a role model, and a thoroughly decent human being.” (The one thing I would add to Joe’s thread is the piece by Joe Nocera. ~Skip)
Bengt Wiberg - “88% of all US nicotine pouch users are MEN - a new survey by Haypp subsidiary Nicokick.com reveal that tobacco harm reduction is far from gender equal (so far)…”
Jeffrey Weiss - “We start with the premise that the Democratic party professes to champion the disadvantaged. The population that continues to smoke is tailor-made for Democratic sympathies – smoking rates are inversely related to educational attainment, low-income adults are more than twice as likely to smoke as higher income adults, people with mental health conditions and substance use disorders have higher smoking prevalence, and smoking rates among LGBTQ+ adults are higher than the national average…And yet, Democratic politicians at the state and federal level uniformly seek to undermine the ability of smoking adults to potentially save their lives by switching to a less-harmful, non-combustible nicotine product.”
Another Vaper Arrested in Thailand. “For context, I’ve been smoking since I was 15 (I’m 31 now), and I switched to e-cigs before I moved to Bangkok in 2021,” continues Yupapiyulo. “I had no idea vapes were illegal here until I tried to look up where to buy pods. When I found out, I went back to smoking cigarettes. But let’s be honest, disposable vapes are everywhere: you can buy them on Line, in random shops, and even from random stalls on the street. So eventually, I slid back into vaping. “With the recent crackdown, I tried to behave and went back to cigarettes, but I happened to have ONE last vape left. Literally just finishing it. Of course, that’s the day I get stopped.”
Nicotine pouch taxes undermine efforts to help smokers quit. “Quitting smoking in Rhode Island just got more expensive. Included in the state’s budget, passed in June, was an 80 percent tax increase on nicotine pouches. The tax represents a fundamental misunderstanding of sound public health policy and effective taxation. It threatens to undermine harm reduction efforts while creating perverse incentives that could worsen public health outcomes in the Ocean State.”
It would appear the main effect of the Butler ban has been to raise the price of vapes to the point where they are now more expensive than cigarettes. “And the consequence of that has been to increase the number of young people smoking. Which is likely to mean more of them will die early.”
Independent Nicotine Documentary Lands on Apple TV & Amazon Prime. “Whether audiences agree with its message or not, the documentary’s tone and grounding in research invites balanced discourse – making it a valuable addition to public health education and global conversations around nicotine.”
Cigarette Smoking Rate in U.S. Ties 80-Year Low. “Cigarette smoking in the U.S. is at a low point, according to eight decades of Gallup trends. Currently, 11% of U.S. adults say they have smoked cigarettes in the past week, matching the historical low measured in 2022 (and nearly matched at 12% in 2023). When Gallup first asked about cigarette smoking in 1944, 41% of U.S. adults said they smoked. The current smoking rate is about half as large as it was a decade ago and one-third as large as it was in the late 1980s.”
New Evidence Underscores the Value of Tobacco Harm Reduction. “Yet as lawmakers and policymakers at the state and federal levels continue exploring ways to restrict nicotine delivery systems that don’t involve combustible tobacco, the evidence continues to grow that they offer adults a safer way to consume nicotine.”
Cessation Over Harm Reduction: WCTC 2025 Draws a Hard Line Against Less Harmful Nicotine Products. “As smoking remains a leading cause of preventable death globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries, the failure to robustly explore harm reduction strategies represents a missed opportunity. Policymakers must begin to differentiate between combustible tobacco products and non-combustible alternatives with substantially lower risk profiles. Regulation and innovation are not mutually exclusive.”
Will the World Ever Care About the Adults Who Use Nicotine? “The title of this article, inspired by the Human’s query, asks a critical question: Will the world ever care about the adults who use nicotine? Too often, these individuals are stigmatized as reckless or ignored in favor of youth-focused campaigns. You Don’t Know Nicotine may serve as a turning point, fostering a dialogue that balances health concerns with the realities of adult users. Biebert’s invitation to “give it a shot” suggests a narrative that could influence both public perception and policy, offering empathy to the 1.3 billion people affected by nicotine.”
Two Stories, One Country: The Deep Divide Between Cancer Council and Roy Morgan on Youth Smoking and Vaping. “On one side: The Cancer Council’s “Generation Vape” report, released with media fanfare and hailed by Health Minister Mark Butler as proof that Australia has “turned a corner” in youth vaping. On the other hand, Roy Morgan Research quietly released (then partially deleted and edited) data showing a disturbing surge in both smoking and vaping among young Australians.”
Yach & Cameron: Time to get the Doggett Fixed. “The goal is not to promote nicotine use, but to reduce the staggering toll of smoking.”
Illinois 3X taxes on Juul, Elf Bar, ZYN products to fund more spending. “Illinois state leaders just tripled the state excise tax on nicotine analog products, including vapes, nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes, from 15% to 45% of the wholesale price as part of their record $55.2 billion spending plan that started July 1.”
More news: Vapers Digest: July 16, July 18, July 21, July 23.
Attorney General Mayes Cracks Down on Vape Stores Selling to Minors. “The Office of the Attorney General (AGO) has filed civil complaint against New York Smoke Shop LLC and Pro Source Supply LLC, Pro Source Vapes LLC, and Pro Source CBD LLC (collectively, “Pro Source”) and their ownership/management. These are two of the businesses that most persistently and recklessly sell tobacco nicotine products to Arizona youth.”
Appeals court says Ohio legislative effort to block local tobacco laws unconstitutional. “The Tenth District Court of Appeals, which covers Franklin County and hears many state government-related court cases, ruled July 8 that the Ohio General Assembly's attempt to bar Columbus and other cities from enacting their own rules about what types of tobacco products can be sold within their limits violated the Home Rule Amendment of the Ohio Constitution.”
Removeable battery regulations revoked. “The [NZ] Government is revoking 2023 regulations requiring all vaping devices to have removeable batteries to resolve a current court challenge brought by Mason Corporation Limited…The changes will be gazetted today and take effect from 1 September. From that date vaping devices will not be required to have a removeable battery.”
Shadow Report on the (NON)-Implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Article 1 (d) on Harm Reduction Strategies. “In this Shadow Report, we demonstrate that a careful review of the 2023 global progress report as well as the previous WHO FCTC biennial progress reports, including the recently published 2025 WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, show the neglect of tobacco harm reduction (THR), which is required by the FCTC under Article 1 (d) as an essential element of tobacco control. These progress reports also consistently show that a number of FCTC ‘model countries’ are failing to achieve their main objective of reducing smoking prevalence in their respective countries.”
Why Should Working Brits Pay for the WHO’s Failures? “This is moral blackmail from unelected and out-of-touch international bureaucrats. A stealth tax on the working class. It endorses a worldview where health policy is driven not by compassion or evidence, but by coercion and control.”
Inside the crackdown on a flashy new generation of illicit vapes popular with US teens. “ABC News got exclusive access to a federal warehouse filled with seized vapes.”
What Dr. Wen Gets Right—and Misses—About Teen Nicotine Use. “Her concerns are valid, but her framing misses the bigger picture: teen tobacco-related harm is declining—not because of stricter enforcement, but because even youth acting outside the law are turning to safer alternatives. By focusing narrowly on the rise in pouch use without acknowledging the decline in overall harm, she risks fueling unnecessary panic and distracting from meaningful progress.”
Caffeine, nicotine, cannabis, and psilocybin: Pharmacology, toxicology, and potential therapeutic uses of four naturally occurring psychoactive substances. “Some of these substances have been intensively studied, and their pharmacological and toxicological properties are well known, but ongoing research continues to investigate their therapeutic use for specific diseases and disorders. This narrative review aims to provide an overview of the pharmacology and toxicology of these four naturally occurring psychoactive substances, including a summary of the currently available evidence on their therapeutic potential, health benefits, and associated risks.”
Final thoughts…
What do we need to do to save more of the lives of people who smoke? We need to do the best we can with what each of us has to work with. Never doubt you can make a difference. You are all one of the secret ingredients in the recipe that brings about change. Never forget that. I appreciate all of you!
Notes:
I create these newsletters as a personal project. They are not affiliated with any current or past employers or groups with which I volunteer. I receive no financial compensation for my efforts to create these newsletters.
My blog, Skip's Corner, has an X/Twitter account.
My personal accounts are on BlueSky, LinkedIn, and X (Twitter).