Short and Sweet
Thinking 'bout THR Newsletter May 24-June 2, 2025
More coming soon!
I’m dealing with a depressive episode. It happens. I have help, support, and tools. I know this will pass. Meanwhile, I love creating the newsletters and feel guilty for not getting one out on time. Therefore, this edition will have fewer entries than some of the others. But that’s a good thing for busy people! It won’t take as long to read.
Some days, a person needs to cut themselves some slack, and just get done what they can instead of what they want. Today is one of those days.
Take care of yourselves and cut yourself some slack. You are enough.
Until next time…
P.S.: This is from 2017, but well worth the read (or reread): Move over Hippocrates: Harm reduction as the new paradigm for health care.
Unless a miracle happens in the USA in the next few weeks, consumers will lose the group that has fought the hardest and the longest for people who use nicotine. They’ve fought stigma, misinformation, and harmful regulations. I would like to personally thank all the individuals who have been involved with CASAA over the years. Hold on to the pride of knowing you have contributed to saving millions of lives from an early death caused by smoking tobacco.
You can read CASAA’s parting message here.
Retraction Note: Nicotine promotes breast cancer metastasis by stimulating N2 neutrophils and generating pre-metastatic niche in lung. “The authors have retracted this article. After publication, concerns were raised regarding highly similar images in the figures, specifically…”
NEW-TECHNOLOGY NICOTINE POUCH DESIGN MAY REVERSE GUM IRRITATION AND IMPROVE ORAL HEALTH. “A new pilot study offers promising news for people using oral nicotine products: even mild damage to the gums and oral lining caused by products like nicotine pouches or snus may be reversed by switching to a new, gum-protective technology.”
Spreaders:
Discussion | Is vaping healthier than smoking? “JOHANNESBURG - On 31 May 2025 marks World No Tobacco Day. The day aims to raise awareness of the harmful tactics employed by the tobacco industry…According to International SOS's Global Health Advisor for Clinical Governance, Dr. Chris van Straten, the risks associated with smoking and vaping are the same, hence neither should be encouraged.”
Thought Leaders:
American Medical Association Article Claims that Quitting Smoking by Switching to Vapes is Not Quitting. “What is going on here? I'll tell you. It's called lifestyle control. The tobacco control movement has largely lost its focus on public health and instead is now focusing on lifestyle control. They promote smoking cessation, but only if you quit the way they want you to quit. They are the ones who get to define what "counts" as quitting smoking, not you. It makes no difference that you are literally saving your life by becoming an exclusive vaper. You are still using nicotine by a mechanism that they despise, so they get to tell you that you've actually not quit smoking, even though you most certainly have.”
Misconceptions About Nicotine Undermine Public Health Progress. “The persistence of this misconception among healthcare professionals is troubling. It not only hinders effective patient counseling but also undermines tobacco harm reduction strategies that could save lives.”
Caitlin Notley - “Honoured to accept this award on behalf of the whole COSTED trial team. Celebrating the UEA innovation and impact award for outstanding impact in health, welfare and wellbeing. It is truly exciting to see the COSTED approach to smoking cessation for people attending hospital emergency departments being implemented across the UK. Thanks to the amazing research team, Action on Smoking and Health, and all the hardworking NHS Trusts pushing forwards with implementation. COSTED is improving health and saving lives for people who may not even have been considering quitting smoking!”
Lynne Dawkins - “Following a 25+ year academic research career, the last 9 of which have been at LSBU, I have decided to leave academia and set up my own company (Dawkins Analytics). I will be consulting on a non-exclusive basis for Pinney Associates, which in turn consults for Juul Labs, Inc. on nicotine vapour products to advance tobacco harm reduction. Dawkins Analytics and Pinney Associates do not consult on combustible tobacco products. My last day at LSBU will be 30th May, and I will begin consulting for Pinney on 2nd June 2025. I remain passionate about helping people stop smoking and ensuring the most effective reduced-risk products are available to those who need them.”
Ziauddin Islam - “A Strong Condemnation of WHO's Propaganda: Time for Accountability…”
Jeffrey Weiss - “Last week FDA Commissioner Marty Makary testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee. Dr. Makary’s testimony included some of his most extended comments on nicotine vaping…”
Julie Gunlock - “So let me get this straight. I can light up and smoke a cigarette in France but using a nicotine pouch (which is smoke-free, discreet, scent-free, and much safer than combustible cigs) will get me thrown in jail and a six-figure fine? Make it make sense.”
Jeffrey Weiss - “Can we trust industry?…”
CRITICAL MASS | Safer Nicotine Hits Escape Velocity. “Goldman Sachs predicts safer nicotine will overtake cigarettes in the U.S. this year. Millions have already made the switch, despite tobacco control efforts, not because of it. David Sweanor breaks down the consumer-led collapse of smoking and how it likely can’t be stopped.”
THE PHILOSOPHY OF TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION. “In this episode of GFN News, Will Godfrey highlights a recent interview between Kiran Sidhu and renowned philosopher Dr. Sridhar Venkatapuram exploring the intersection of philosophy and public health, and the ethical support for tobacco harm reduction using safer nicotine products.”
How best to manage new nicotine and tobacco products? “Restrictive measures are necessary, but technological innovation is part of the solution and cannot be left entirely to the for-profit sector.”
Opinion: Health Canada should thank business for great smoking news. “In Ode to a Nightingale, John Keats described how “but to think is to be full of sorrow/And leaden-eyed despairs.” Such pervasive, perpetual gloominess sounds exactly like Canadian health officials contemplating the latest statistics on smoking, which are in fact spectacularly good news. Smoking has not yet been fully extinguished, but millions or smokers have quit and switched to lower-risk products. Yet “woe is us!” groan the officials.”
Learnings from the 2025 E-Cigarette Summit. “Institutional disruptions—such as the closure of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, unexpected retirements of key FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) officials, and major NIH grant reductions—highlighted the fragile support for THR efforts. Nevertheless, the Summit showcased the resilience of the scientific community, steadfast in its mission to eliminate combustible tobacco use.”
NEW: EU Finance Ministers push for new vape and pouch taxes. “The Commission had planned to propose new tobacco and nicotine taxes in 2022, but the legislation was never adopted because of concerns around high inflation. With inflation now back to pre-COVID levels, some Member States are hoping to revive the idea. A leak of the 2022 proposal seen by the Financial Times would increase the price of nicotine pouches by around 50% and more than double the price of vapes in some cases.”
Trump Promised To 'Save Vaping.' His FDA Head Does Not Seem Inclined To Do That. “Marty Makary grossly exaggerates the prevalence of adolescent nicotine addiction, the concern underlying his agency's restrictions on e-cigarette flavors.”
The danger of e-cigarette prohibition and illicit trade. “…Yet international organisations and foundations are pushing this reckless and evidence-free idea through their influence with the WHO and funding for activists in critical countries, including Malaysia, but not only Malaysia. WHO has been incentivising prohibitions, yet has so far not undertaken any assessment of the effects of the policies it promotes, many of which are predictable and likely to be harmful.”
EU Health Commissioner Under Fire for Spouting Vape Misinformation. “Misinformation about tobacco harm reduction, though sadly rife, is especially damaging when it comes from the most senior health officials. That’s exactly what happened when European Commissioner of Health and Animal Welfare Olivér Varhelyi spoke about vapes at a recent meeting with members of the European Parliament (MEPs).”
An Abundance of Improved Health: Bringing the Abundance Agenda to the Realm of Nicotine Policy. “Unfortunately, so far, the scarcity mindset continues to entrap the organizations that shape the public dialogue around tobacco and nicotine policy, which, in turn, limits the actions of policymakers and regulators at all levels of government.”
CoEHAR writes to the Prime Minister of Malaysia: effective regulation, not bans needed. “As part of its international efforts to promote evidence-based public policies for tobacco harm reduction, the CoEHAR – Center of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction at the University of Catania – has sent an official communication to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, regarding the State of Terengganu’s decision to implement a ban on the sale of vaping products starting August.”
WHO is Undermining Its Own Tobacco Control Goals. “For decades, the World Health Organization (WHO) has played a critical role in global tobacco control. Its warnings about the dangers of smoking have helped shape public health policy and reduce the global burden of tobacco-related diseases. But somewhere along the way, WHO’s mission seems to have blurred. Today, the same organization that once focused on ending the smoking epidemic is now lumping better alternatives such as nicotine pouches into the same category as combustible tobacco.”
More news:
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).