Thinking 'bout THR News and Views
Mar 23-30, 2025
It’s Conference Season!
It’s been a year since I shared my story about dealing with stage fright. Back when I played in a band, I learned that the less eyes were on me, the easier it was to avoid getting sick while performing. I never sang in a band (I tell people I sing like a dead frog in heat - yes, my voice is that bad!). I had the habit of standing towards the back of the stage, by the drummer. It made me less the focus of attention than my bandmates standing in the front.
My first conference to speak at was GTNF in 2022. I leaned heavily on Joe, Laura Leigh, Alex, and Lindsey to get me through that day. I shared stories and used slides to display data that reinforced my stories. I love using slides! It gives people something to look at other than me. I am very conscious of my appearance and mannerisms, so the fewer eyes, the better.
I am honored to be participating in another conference in a couple of weeks. I’ll be on the Misperceptions panel at ATNF with Cris, Cliff, and Joe. I don’t know the details about making and submitting slides yet, and I was allowing myself to get pretty wigged out over it. Joe, the panel moderator, suggested I speak without slides.
My first reaction was, “Is he ******* nuts?” No slides? No data backing up lived experiences? No showing of my research abilities? NO HIDING FROM THE EYES? Oh goodness! That instigated another round of anxiety.
So, what will I be doing when I speak at ATNF? I will be slideless, that’s what I’m doing! I have hollered for a long time about people with lived experience who do not have a voice. It frustrates me that people who use nicotine are invisible unless they’re under the age of 25.
After much thought, I had to agree with Joe. (Dang, I must eat crow again because he’s right…) If the audience is reading slides, they aren’t hearing me or seeing me, and they are robbed of the opportunity to learn about people like me.
By hiding behind slides so people don’t see me, I’m sending a silent message that people with lived experience aren’t worth seeing.
We are worth seeing, and you are, too. If you’re at an event I’m attending this year, please come say hi to me. This spring, I will attend ATNF, the FDLI Annual Conference, and the E-cigarette Summit. If everything goes according to plan, I will be at FDLI and NTSC in the fall.
One of the things that makes me nervous about conferences is the social part. I suffered a traumatic brain injury when I was young, and I have ADHD. Combined, I have the wonkiest memory. Things either “go in one ear and out the other,” or they super-glue themselves to my brain.
One of my vast weaknesses is remembering names. I also don’t look at faces very often. I look towards faces because before it was known I’m autistic, it was thought a “bad” thing I don’t make a lot of eye contact. I learned to look in the general direction, and then people don’t know I’m not looking at them.
This means I often don’t recognize someone I’ve met before, and even if I do, I can’t remember their names. I’m always afraid of insulting someone when this happens, and I feel incredibly embarrassed when it happens.
Any of you who are at the conferences I’m at can help me with this. If we’ve met before and it seems like I don’t know your name or don't recognize you, please tell me your name and where we met. People are afraid to do that because they are afraid I’ll think they’re treating me like I’m stupid. That is not how I feel. I feel helped and supported, which enhances my experience when a new encounter with someone can be attached to a previous one. It helps me remember things.
I may be socially awkward, but I’m not anti-social. I love meeting people, and I enjoy talking to them. I’m not good at initiating conversations, and I appreciate it when others start them. How can you tell when it’s a good time to begin a conversation? Even if I’m off to the side by myself?
If I am overwhelmed and taking a sensory break, I use a headset to reduce noise. I usually need a couple of minutes to level out a bit at that time. But if I’ve been that way for a long time, it usually means I’ve gotten engrossed with something on my phone and have lost track of time. So, give me a couple of minutes and then “come on down!”
If I don’t have my headset on and look like a lost soul, I am uncomfortable and don’t know who to talk to or what to do. So, I stand around and watch people. People-watching is more entertaining at a sporting event or the local pub than observing small groups of folks chatting away at a conference. <big grin!>
When I was younger, I was impulsive and got in trouble for interrupting. I won’t usually walk up and join the conversation when people are already talking because I’m afraid of interrupting. So yes, I need an invite.
On the inside, I am a social butterfly. I just never figured out how to break out of my cocoon! The closest I got was GTNF, the event in which I symbolically wore clothes with butterflies on them and had butterflies on my slides. There would have been zero success without the many friendly people who walked up and introduced themselves. I had such a good time that GTNF is one of the memories super-glued to my brain.
Until next time…
P.S. A couple of weeks ago, a wonderful woman in my mental health/autism peer support group pointed out that I am one of the kindest and most helpful people she’s ever known. Helpful to everyone but myself. She wished I’d work on asking for help and letting people help me by telling more people how they can support me.
I have friends who are my support team, and at least one member is at every conference I attend. I would be lost at conferences without their support.
But that also means that when they are busy, I’m floundering in a corner somewhere, waiting to be rescued from my limitations. That amazing woman’s wish was that I’d stop hiding and do more to advocate for people like us by verbalizing and normalizing support for autistic people. No one can help if they don’t know what is needed.
So, this week’s commentary is dedicated to her. I wish she were still here to see that I honored her request. She died from suicide last week. I am dreading 6 am tomorrow. Every Monday at precisely 6 am, she’d send everyone in our group a message wishing us a good week. She always included an inspirational quote. I wish I had known that last Monday was her last message and responded with more than a “Thank you, I hope you have a good week, too.”
#MentalHealthMatters
Fanning the flame: analysing the emergence, implications, and challenges of Australia’s de facto war on Nicotine. “We contend that a recalibration toward a harm reduction model, coupled with a re-evaluation of tax and improved access to less harmful nicotine products, could achieve a more balanced approach to nicotine control, aligning public health objectives with sustainable, effective policy.”
The Vaping Deaths That Weren’t Vaping Deaths - “But, when the autopsy results came in, there were no nicotine poisonings or popcorn lung to be seen.”
Reports on ASH breached standards and fell well short of journalistic expectations . “The broadcast created a misleading, unbalanced and unfairly negative impression of the complainant, by favouring particular (critical) perspectives, while failing to adequately present ASH’s position in response – despite this having been discussed at length during an un-aired 30-minute interview. This undermined the public interest in the story as the audience did not have the benefit of hearing both sides.”
Update - Tweet(s) now displaying a community note (Anyone can vote on these.):
Johnny - “Please stop vaping.” (Plays a TikTok video - Popcorn lung, etc.)
Jonathan Foulds - “Essential reading for Tobacco Control. The purpose of this study was to evaluate what low-income smokers have learned from public health education and how this knowledge may have influenced smoking-related behaviors. Watch out for the word "assholes".”
Clive Bates - “Also, a LinkedIn post from Dr Gilchrist on the missed opportunity to do real science i.e. to reconcile contending perspectives using evidence. What would be so wrong about talking about these differences? Why so afraid to confront or accept criticism?”
Ron Marshall - “HB525, the registry bill just got tabled in the appropriations committee in Montana!!”
GrimmGreen - “The mission is all that matters #vaping” (Video with testimonials)
Jeffrey Weiss - “I often see signs of frustration on the part of tobacco harm reduction advocates about the current state of the debate over the public health benefits of nicotine vaping…”
Ed Jegasothy - Reminder that smoking is a public health issue that disproportionately affects the poor. "if we're thinking about smoking as a public health issue, we should be looking a bit further upstream and thinking about cost of living and addressing poverty." Links to: How Australia's fight with big tobacco fuelled a black market.
Kiran Melkote - "𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲'𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝗰: 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗚𝘂𝘁𝗸𝗵𝗮 𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼?" India's relationship with tobacco is, shall we say, complicated. We've got vibrant festivals, bustling markets, and... a rather robust oral tobacco habit. From gutkha to khaini, the numbers are staggering, and the health consequences are, well, less than ideal. We're the oral cancer capital of the world…
Shaping Vaping. March 27, 2025
Nicotine Paradox | Safer Than Smoking, But Still Under Attack | RegWatch.
Why the FDA is right about Zyn - “The real controversy about this decision should be in relation to the length of time it took.”
The failure of Massachusetts’ tobacco flavor ban. “It’s been just under five years since Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, and an illicit market there is booming, according to a new report.”
When Harm Reduction Is Easy and Enjoyable, It’s More Effective. “This “pleasure” principle extends to all harm reduction—tobacco harm reduction included.
There’s substantial evidence that vapes, pouches and other safer nicotine products are effective in helping people who want to quit smoking. Two big factors in why they work are that they are easy to use and enjoyable.”
(I try to not editorialize on the headlines I share in this section, but I can not resist the temptation to point out that meeting the 180-day deadline on submitted PMTAs has been a problem for years. ~Skip) Exclusive: FDA staff struggle to meet product review deadlines after DOGE layoffs. “Some U.S. health regulators who review medical devices and tobacco products for safety and efficacy are struggling to meet deadlines mandated by Congress due to Trump administration layoffs, three scientists working on the projects told Reuters.”
More Officers On The Streets - “Driving up the price of vaping by a huge amount feeds the black market. The government are making a conscious decision to force hard up ex-smokers away from the regulated sector.”
One third of vapers in the UK willing to buy illegal vapes - “Researchers from alternative nicotine product retailer Haypp set out to identify how many UK vape users may be willing to buy vapes on the black market. A survey of over 500 vape users across the UK found that almost a third (32%) admitted they would be willing to purchase an illegal vape.”
Trump Has Fewer Than 30 Days to Keep Promise on Flavored Vapes - “Trump has 30 days to veto the ITC decision on policy grounds. Such measures are typically recommended by the secretary of Commerce or the U.S. Trade Representative. Newly confirmed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer must act before the window closes. The health of millions of Americans depends on it.”
Vapes have no significant impact on lung function, new CoEHAR umbrella review finds. “Led by Dr. Giusy Rita Maria La Rosa, Professor Riccardo Polosa, and Dr. Renée O’Leary, the review analysed twelve systematic reviews on vape effects, categorising users into three groups: dual users (who smoke and vape), exclusive users (former smokers who switched to vaping), and naïve users (those who have never smoked but use vapes).”
More news:
Vapers Digest (March 24, March 26, March 28), GINN, Global Action to End Smoking
Introducing a new category to the newsletters. The year 2025 marked the FCTC's 20th anniversary. Later this year, CoP11 will be held. This section will feature stories, videos, etc., about the WHO, FCTC, and CoP11.
20 years on, the WHO tobacco treaty is “failing those who need it most,” says global health expert. “Dr Delon Human, an author, family physician and expert in tobacco harm reduction (THR), said: “..after two decades of costly FCTC influence and activities, the reality is grim: smoking still kills 8.5 million people annually, and more than 1.2 billion people continue to use tobacco. While some countries have made progress, many low and middle income regions have seen minimal improvement.”
After 20 Years of Its Tobacco Treaty, the WHO Has Little to Celebrate. “The absolute numbers are flat, at best, with the WHO reporting 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide.
Small wonder that a press release from one of the WHO’s regional offices, its title crediting the FCTC with “saving millions of lives,” instead touts the number of people now living under tobacco control policies as its main metric of success.”
An Open Letter to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, and Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. “As an independent consultant unbound by industry ties, I write from the heart about the worsening tobacco control epidemic. WHO FCTC reports show tobacco deaths rising from 6 million in 2018 to over 8 million today—7 million from smoking, 1.3 million from second-hand smoke (SHS). In Pakistan, 22-25 million smokers fuel 163,600 deaths yearly, with SHS burdening others. Globally, 80% of 1.3 billion tobacco users live in poorer nations, costing $1.4 trillion in health and economic losses.”
Final thoughts…
I’m grateful for people who, no matter how busy they are, will take 15 minutes to make a phone call to help and support a fellow human being who is having a rough time. You know who you are. Thank you for helping me deal with a rough week.
Notes:
I create these newsletters as a personal project. They are not affiliated with any current or past employers or groups I do volunteer work with. 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).