Thinking 'bout THR Newsletter

November 1-5, 2024

Nov 05, 2024

E-mc2 written on chalkboard — Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

I went to FDLI and NTSC because I wanted to learn. I hoped to improve my understanding of the regulatory process and learn what it’s like to work at the FDA or be an academic.

I also wanted to observe how people who disagree with each other interact. I hoped this would help me improve my communication skills.

What I heard at both conferences allowed me to cross everything I wanted to learn off my list. Little did I know, the most important lesson wasn’t on the list.

I have long said that my job in the nicotine space is to humanize the debate, to remind the industry that there are people behind the dollar signs, and to remind researchers, regulators, and society that people are behind the statistics.

I want everyone to see people. Not “smokers,” “addicts,” or any of the other derogatory and stigmatizing images that pop into brains when thinking of tobacco or nicotine use. I want them to see parents, grandparents, friends, and neighbors.

I want others not to feel disgusted because someone smokes. Instead, I hope to fill their hearts with compassion. I hope I can help them see how hard it is not to have a home, to live with a mental illness, or to fight to survive living paycheck to paycheck. While smoking is bad for people’s health, it gives people who are struggling a respite from the things that can be ugly in life.

While many think their mission in life is to stop others from engaging in unhealthy behavior, I hope to influence them to work in a helpful rather than a controlling way, which will lead to greater participation by those whose behavior they are trying to influence.

If I want to humanize the debate over nicotine, I have to stop preaching to the choir and be brave enough to talk to folks. When conversing with someone I disagree with, I’ve found it crucial to form a bond by seeking common ground.

This is easier if I look outside of the area of disagreement. What in their life connects to mine? Are we both parents? Did we have the same favorite subject in school? Do we enjoy the same hobbies? Anything will do. Something that puts us in the same circle.

I never thought about the importance of making the same kind of connection with someone I do agree with.

I have much to say about meeting and interacting with Mike Cummings at both events. He impressed me and influenced me in several ways. To avoid composing a novel, I’ll limit myself to one story about Mike and save the others for future newsletters.

At FDLI, Mike tried to answer my question about seeing the ocean by sharing his personal experiences and fond memories. While trying to be helpful, he had no idea he was wearing his educator shoes.

When Mike spoke to me about being a parent and a grandparent and how much he likes to take the kids fishing, I instantly went to a happy place filled with cherished memories of fishing with my grandpa.

I entered that conversation stuck in the labels I attached to each of us. Suddenly, in my eyes, the conversation wasn’t between an academic and a consumer. It was between two people who cherish happy times doing things they love with those they love.

The conversation showed me that Mike does what he does not because it’s what he chose for a career; he’s doing what he does because he cares about people, just like I do. I left the conversation no longer uncomfortable talking to Mike because he has fancy letters after his name. His label melted.

At that moment, the light bulb lit in my head. Humanizing the debate is not my job. That job belongs to all of us. We will help more people faster if we commit to fulfilling that job requirement.

Thanks for the lesson, Mike!

Until next time….

PS: Excuse me as I exit stage right to rehearse my happy dance. It is #PeanutButterLoversMonth. Those who know me well know I have a “thing” for peanut butter!

Sarah Jackson - Interesting article making use of UTARG’s Smoking Toolkit study data…It makes a strong claim that doesn’t quite reflect our conclusions…
Arielle Selya - Tweetorial about new JUUL study. Adult JUUL purchasers who used a JUUL flavor *different from* their usual cigarette flavor were more likely to switch away from smoking.
Jeffrey Weiss - THR and “positive spillover.”

How We Practice Tobacco Harm Reduction in Prison, With No Vapes. “Those circumstances speak to a broader point: If our approach to harm reduction includes only our own understanding of the harms, rather than the experiences of the people being harmed, then we’re not really doing harm reduction—we’re just trying to make other people do what we want. Just like the folks making bans.”
Written Statement: The UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill. “Today, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been introduced into the UK Parliament. An earlier version of the Bill was introduced by the last UK Government on 20 March, but its progress was halted when Parliament was dissolved on 30 May ahead of the General Election.”
expert reaction to the tobacco and vapes bill. “It is very important that smokefree legislation does not include vaping. Vaping is a harm reduction approach for adult smokers trying to quit smoking. Policies that deal with smoking and vaping in the same way send a very confusing message. In our smoking cessation trial in hospital emergency departments, patients found it easier to switch to vaping in contexts where they were supported to do so, such as smoke-free but ‘vape friendly’ NHS sites.”
New smoking and vaping cessation guidelines. “Vaping carries only a small fraction of the risk of smoking and many people rely on it for long-term harm reduction. Former smokers should try to stop vaping if they can, but many people need to use nicotine long-term to reduce the risk of relapsing to smoking,” Dr Mendelsohn says.
Government Announces Abysmal 378% Tax Hike. “All vaping products will be within the scope of the duty including those produced at home from base ingredients, such as propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, flavourings and nicotine.”
MLB Is Considering New Nicotine Pouch Policy. “To the extent there is ambiguity regarding the status of these novel products at the Major League level, we plan to address that with the Major League Baseball Players Association this offseason,” said the source, who spoke to FOS on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the topic.”
Nicotine pouches prove a hit but come under increasing scrutiny. “The UK’s Food Standards Agency has said “it is plausible that use of oral nicotine pouches . . . would be associated with a reduction in overall risk of adverse health effects” when discussing it in the context as a replacement for smoking”
85 Things to Do Besides Smoking. “The best way to break a bad habit is to replace it with something else. Quickly coming up with an alternative to smoking can feel near impossible. After all, craving a cigarette pecks at you like an insistent toddler in the candy aisle. Here's an at-the-ready list to help you say no.” (Note: This reminds me of a thread I did on Twitter! ~Skip)
Vape-detecting sensors spark discussion concerning privacy, safety at Valley Center schools. “People have to go to school, so listening to their conversations without consent I think is going to run afoul of many constitutional rights, including the constitutional right to privacy,” said Charley O’Hara with O’Hara and O’Hara Law Office.”

The events listed below focus on nicotine. Some do not support reduced-risk products. Some have covered nicotine in the past but may not cover that topic every year.

November - COPD Awareness Month, Lung Cancer Awareness Month, National Homelessness Awareness Month
Nov 6, 2024, (Virtual) 9:00 AM CT - When all other forms of promotion are regulated, “Our packaging is our marketing."
Nov 6-8, 2024, Harrisburg, PA, 2024 James E. Anderson Pennsylvania Conference on Juvenile Justice. One of the workshops, Restorative Solutions: Rethinking Youth Tobacco, Nicotine, and Vaping Dependency
Nov 13-14, 2024, Accra, Ghana - Africa Conference on Tobacco Control.
Nov 14-15, 2024, UK - SSA Annual Conference. Professor Ann McNeill will give the Society Lecture at the SSA’s Annual Conference. The title of the talk is, ‘Tobacco harm reduction – controversies and potential resolutions’.
Nov 14-16, 2024, Ontario, Canada - CSAM-SMCA 2024 Scientific Conference.
Nov 15, 2024, 1:00 PM CT (Virtual) - Tobacco Online Policy Seminar (TOPS) - “Flavored E-cigarette Sales Restrictions and Young Adult Tobacco Use in the United States”
Nov 18-20, 2024, Olomouc, Czech Republic, (In-person) - Czech Annual Cancer Research Meeting. Note: Keynote talks: Prof. David Khayat on Cancer Risk Factors: The Role of Tobacco Harm Reduction.
Nov 20, 2024 (Virtual) 12 PM ET - Are Cigarettes and E-Cigarettes Substitutes or Compliments, and Does it Matter?
Nov 21-23, 2024, National Harbor, MD, US Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management - Fall Research Conference. (APPAM)
Nov 21, 2024, Great American Smokeout
Nov 22, 2024, (Virtual) 9:30 AM BST - Behavioural Research UK: Public engagement in research and policy.
December 5, 2024, UK (Virtual and In-person), E-Cigarette Summit UK
Dec 6, 2024, 1:00 PM CT (Virtual) - Tobacco Online Policy Seminar (TOPS) - “Estimating the Cross-Tax Elasticity of Tobacco Demand with Respect to Cannabis Taxation in the US: Using Nielsen Retail Scanner Data”
Dec 30, 2024, World Safer Nicotine Day #WSND #WSND24
Scroll Down for 2025 and 2026 Events

Check out the public Google calendar of THR-related events created and maintained by Clive Bates. Also, check out the event calendar from Ecig Intelligence. Their listings include consumer/trade shows and expos that I don't include in this newsletter. This is a good resource for information on conferences about addiction/behavior.

Surveys:

Help Wanted:

Post Doctoral Associate

Wanted: Conference/Seminar/Webinar/Comment Submissions…

Advancing Smoking Cessation: FDA and NIH Priorities. The deadline to submit written comments to the docket is Nov 21, 2024.

Call for Papers/Abstracts

Mental Health, Stigma and Addictive Behaviors. A special issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 November 2024
Empirical modeling. Submission deadline: 28 November 2024
The changing media landscape and tobacco-related content. The submission deadline for abstracts is 29 November 2024.
Generating stronger evidence to inform policy and practice: natural experiments on built environments, health behaviours and chronic diseases. Submission deadline: November 30, 2024
A Means to an ENDS: The Uncertainty of ENDS Use and Cardiovascular Disease From Human Research to Basic Science Mechanisms. Submission deadline: 31 December 2024
Cancer Causes and Control. A special issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024
Factors Associated with Successful Smoking Cessation. A special issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024

Call for Papers / Abstracts

E-cigarettes and Vaping Products: Health Effects and Toxicological Impacts. A special issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Deadline for manuscript submissions: 21 January 2025
Tenth International Congress on Peer Review and Scientific Publication. Call for abstracts opens Dec 1, 2024. Deadline for submissions is Janurary 31, 2025.
Thinking Outside the Box to Reduce Health Inequities in Perinatal Tobacco and Nicotine Exposure: A Nicotine & Tobacco Research Themed Issue Nicotine & Tobacco Research intends to publish a themed issue on Prenatal Tobacco and Nicotine Exposure. The guest editors for this issue will be Dr. Natacha De Genna, Dr. Laura Stroud, and Prof. Yael Bar-Zeev. Submission deadline: February 1, 2025.
LGBTQ+ Health. Submission deadline: 04 March 2025
14th Workshop on the Economics of Risky Behavior Call for Submissions. Submission deadline: 10 March 2025 (Event)
Consumer behaviour. Submission deadline: 25 March 2025
Wearable devices. Submission deadline: 27 March 2025
The Tobacco Endgame in Low- And Middle-Income Countries and Indigenous Communities: Evidence Syntheses and Systematic Reviews. Submission deadline: 25 May 2025
STRONGER Scholars: A Research Education Program to Reduce Tobacco-Related Cancer Disparities and Improve Health Equity. A special issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025

Jan 10, 2025, 1:00 PM CT (Virtual) - Tobacco Online Policy Seminar (TOPS) - “Very Low Nicotine Content Cigarettes in the Context of Non-Combusted Nicotine Products”
Jan 15-19, 2025, Seattle, WA, US - Society for Social Work and Research.
Jan 16-17, 2025, (In-Person, Partial Virtual) Manchester, UK - RCGP & AP Managing addictions in primary care 2025. (Note: Tobacco is on the agenda)
Jan 24, 2025, 1:00 PM CT (Virtual) - Tobacco Online Policy Seminar (TOPS) - “Flavorants and Addiction: An Empirical Analysis of Cigarette Bans and Taxation”
Jan 27-28, 2025, Las Vegas, NV, US - E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium.
Feb 7, 2025, 1:00 PM CT (Virtual) - Tobacco Online Policy Seminar (TOPS) - “Financial Incentives for Smoking Cessation – A Cochrane Review”
Feb 13-15, 2025, Boston, MA, US - 2025 AAAS ANNUAL MEETING. AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE
Feb 21, 2025, 1:00 PM CT (Virtual) - Tobacco Online Policy Seminar (TOPS) - “Impact of Advertising on Smoking Cessation: Role of Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising”
Mar 5, 2025 York, UK (In-person & Virtual SCAH - Smoking Cessation and Health Conference.
Mar 7, 2025, 1:00 PM CT (Virtual) - Tobacco Online Policy Seminar (TOPS) - “Harm Reduction for Addictive Consumption: When Does it Improve Health and When Does it Backfire?”
Mar 12-15, 2025 New Orleans, LA, US - SRNT 31st Annual Meeting
Mar 21, 2025, 1:00 PM CT (Virtual) - Tobacco Online Policy Seminar (TOPS) - “Estimating the Effect of E-cigarette Nicotine Restrictions on E-cigarette and Cigarette Sales in Canada”
Mar 27-29, 2025 - Phoenix, AZ, US - 31st Nicotine Dependence Center Conference 2025: The Evolving Tobacco Landscape and Implications for Policy and Practice.
Apr 4, 2025, 1:00 PM CT (Virtual) - Tobacco Online Policy Seminar (TOPS) - “The Intergenerational Effects of Cigarette Taxes on Smoking”
April 15-17, 2025, Arlington, VA, US - American Tobacco & Nicotine Forum (ATNF), formerly the TMA Annual Meeting & Conference (I’m not aware of a link available to the event yet)
Apr 27-30, 2025 - Bogotá, Colombia - 28th edition of the Harm Reduction Conference (HR25)
June 11-12, 2025, Madrid, Spain - 14th Workshop on the Economics of Risky Behavior.
June 2025, Bangor, Maine, US - 2025 Tobacco Treatment and Prevention Conference.
Aug 26-28, 2025 Chicago, IL, US - The National Conference on Tobacco or Health (NCTOH) (Link is to the announcement, not event info)
Sep 3-5, 2025 Chicago, IL, US - e 10th International Congress on Peer Review and Scientific Publication.
Sep 10-12, 2025 Romania - SRNT-E Conference.
Nov 13-15,2025 Hyatt Seattle, WA, US - Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management - Fall Research Conference. (APPAM)
Nov 17, 2025 (all week) Geneva - FCTC COP11
Nov 17, 2025 (all week) Geneva - GoodCOP/BadCOP - Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Nov 24, 2025 (all week) Geneva - FCTC MOP4

Mar 4-6, 2026 Baltimore, MD, US - SRNT 32nd Annual Meeting.
Sep 6-9 2026, Cape Town, South Africa - 18th World Conference on Public Health.
Nov 5-7, 2026, Boston, MA, US - Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management - Fall Research Conference. (APPAM)

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 believe that everyone deserves a seat at the table. If you’re interested in nicotine with a focus on THR, this newsletter is for you.
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