Thinking 'bout THR Newsletter
September 17-21, 2024
It’s Pumpkin Spice Everything Season!
Unless you’re a nicotine nerd like me, then it’s conference season!
People can call me a nerd, geek, weirdo, or whatever they want. I call myself a happy camper. I love conferences, webinars, podcasts, and TED talks. Once summer ends, my calendar quickly fills up with multiple choices to feed my endless curiosity (see events listing further down this newsletter).
I’m lucky I work a unique shift at the group home. Working 3:00 AM—9:00 AM means I am awake when conferences occur across the ocean. I log into as many virtual options as I can.
This week, I tuned in to the Scientific Summit on Tobacco Harm Reduction, a webinar about stigma, and the Lost Women of Science’s latest episode of “The Devil in the Details” series. Later today, I’m watching a webinar about policy implementation science.
Next week, I will be a virtual attendant at the New Approaches Conference. I have been invited to be their guest commentator and live tweet the event from their X (Twitter) account. I am thrilled to be given this honor and to add a consumer’s touch to the proceedings.
That will be followed by three full days of watching the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF) from Greece! Thank you, Elise Rasmussen, for the kind and generous thing you did to allow consumers to participate virtually.
Over the next few weeks, I'll be watching more conferences and webinars online. I look forward to them all.
I am impatiently waiting for the end of October to arrive. I will fly to Washington, D.C., on October 21 and attend the two FDLI events that week in person. Thank you, Steven Leslie, for dubbing me a “Public Health Advocate.” I still smile each time I think of that. (I will write more about being a public health advocate in the future.)
As if a trip to DC wasn’t enough stimulus for my neurodivergent soul, after some e-mails with Mike Cummings, I decided why go to two conferences in one trip when I could take a couple of extra vacation days and go to three conferences!
On October 26th, I will fly to Charleston, SC, to attend the Nicotine and Tobacco Science Conference. This will be my first trip to Charleston. I hear it is a beautiful and historic city. I love old buildings and hope to see several of them.
Charleston has a bonus level of excitement for me because it’s by the Atlantic Ocean. I’ve seen the Atlantic from an airplane; it is an impressive sight. But it is on my bucket list to see it from the ground, maybe touch the water, and smell the air. So, I’m hoping to make that happen!
I look forward to meeting as many folks as possible in DC and SC!!!! I can be a little bashful and uncomfortable walking up to folks and introducing myself, but I will give it my best shot. Because of this discomfort, I didn’t meet everyone I wanted to at the last E-Cigarette Summit, and that was disappointing.
To those of you who will also be hitting the road to attend conferences, I wish you safe travels. I hope you get to see old friends and make new friends. May the presentations be interesting and the discussions be thought-provoking!
Until next time….
PS: The events section has updates.
Solihull residents urged to stop smoking. “The Swap to Stop programme aims to cut smoking rates by providing free vape kits for adult smokers, alongside behavioural support sessions.”
Georgia Department of Health Continues to Undermine Public Health. “Recently on social media, the Georgia Department of Health (GADOH) criticized e-cigarettes, suggesting they are dangerous. This position, unfortunately, aligns with the agency’s history of skepticism toward vaping as a tobacco harm reduction tool, despite evidence from numerous public health organizations that find e-cigarettes less harmful and helpful in assisting adults to quit smoking.”
SCOHRE: 10 Public Health Proposals on Smoking Control. “In the last session of the 7th Summit on Tobacco Harm Reduction by SCOHRE, the board members of the Association reaffirmed SCOHRE’s vision and presented 10 proposals aimed at combating the smoking epidemic and its harmful effects. Here is the full text of the 10 Public Health Proposals on Smoking Control…”
Dutch Flavour Ban Impact. “The research among vapers (average age 52 years) showed that 80% now purchase the products they enjoy using across the border, despite the ban on flavours and online sales.”
GA Lawmakers Welcome Increasingly Wild Testimony in Vape Registry Push. “At the committee meetings held September 5 and September 9, law enforcement officers and school administrators took turns giving wildly inaccurate testimony about how United States teenagers are being killed off en masse by unregulated, disposable flavored vapes imported from China.”
Free vapes in emergency rooms help smokers quit, new report finds. “More than half the participants the research team managed to contact six months after their visit to the emergency department had quit or reduced smoking and a third of those who quit smoking were also not vaping.”
US regulatory power faces fresh test over vaping as new Supreme Court term nears. “The new case does not carry the same high stakes but nonetheless affords the conservative justices an opportunity to scrutinize actions of a regulatory agency, in this case the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's denial of applications to sell flavored vape products.”
The AMA’s dangerous misinformation campaign on vaping continues. “The Tasmanian branch of the AMA has done a disservice to public health with its misguided and factually inaccurate statements on vaping. Its media release not only dismisses the robust evidence supporting vaping as the most effective quitting aid but also spreads fear and misinformation about its safety and role in smoking cessation.”
Smokers forced to drive hours to find pharmacies with nicotine pouches. “There's an even more significant gap between Thunder Bay, Ontario, and Winnipeg, Manitoba. It's an eight-hour drive and no pouches are available between the two cities.”
Anti-smoking battle under threat from ‘cancel culture’ and misinformation. “At the same time, ‘cancel culture’ is hampering public health gains in the fight against smoking. Tobacco harm reduction experts say this culture, promoted by opponents of modern technology, is hampering progress in efforts to combat traditional smoking.”
Flavored Vape Use Cut Cigarette Smoking in High-Risk Adults. “Ideally, a well-regulated marketplace with strong enforcement would allow adult access while preventing youth access. Whether that balance is achievable in the US marketplace remains unclear, but new evidence such as that reported here and elsewhere provides a reason to continue exploring that possibility and suggests that doing so can enhance the overall effect of a nicotine product standard on cigarette smoking should the FDA [US Food and Drug Administration] move forward with that policy,"
U.S. Youth Vaping Rates Continue to Show Dramatic Decline. “It is important to note that “current use” is defined by the NYTS to mean use on ≥1 day during the previous 30 days. In other words, a HS or MS student who vapes only once in the past month would be defined as a current user, regardless of their actual use or intention to use (or not use) the ENDS product in the future.”
Call for submissions: NZ Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No 2). The submission deadline is September 27, 2024.
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.
Sep 23, 2024, NYC, NY, US (In-person & Virtual) - New Approaches Conference. You can follow them on LinkedIn and X (Twitter). *NEW* Watch for live conference tweets on their X (Twitter) account.
Sep 24-26, 2024, Athens, Greece (In-person & Virtual) - GTNF. You can follow them on LinkedIn and X (Twitter).
Sep 25, 2024 - World Lung Day
*NEW* Sep 27, 2024, Chicago, IL, US, 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM CT (In-person, no cost) - NORC and the University of Chicago APPAM Public Policy Camp.
Sep 27, 2024, 10 - 11 AM ET(NY), (Virtual) - Navigating Tobacco Harm Reduction: Insights from Consumer Behavior and Policy in Nepal.
Sep 27-Oct 1, 2024, Orlando, FL, US - American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition. Monday, Sept. 30: “What’s All the Buzz? New and Emerging Nicotine Products Addicting Youth,” Brian King, Ph.D., M.P.H
Sep 29, 2024 - World Heart Day
Sep 30, 2024, 11 AM BST (Virtual) - Behavioural Research UK: Causality, evidence and policy in behavioural research. You can follow them on X (Twitter).
Sep 30, 2024, 8 AM - 6 PM (In-person) London - Nicotine addiction 2024: Action on smoking.
October - Stoptober
October - Healthy Lung Month
October - Health Literacy Month
Oct 3-4, 2024, Burlington, VT, US (In-person & Virtual) - Vermont Center on Behavior and Health 12th Annual Conference. 2024 Theme: "Tobacco Use: Intersections with Other Addictions, Chronic Disease, and Health Disparities."
Oct 4, 2024, (Virtual) 2:00-3:00 PM ET - TOPS Tobacco Online Policy Seminars. You can follow them on X (Twitter).
Oct 4, 2024, (Virtual) 1:00 PM AEST - Tobacco Endgame CRE Series: Responses to health warning labels on cigarette packages between 2002 and 2022: Findings from the International Tobacco Control Four Country Survey. You can follow them on X (Twitter).
Oct 7, 2024 (Virtual) 12:00 PM (UK) - Stoptober 2024: Busting Vape Myths: A Closer Look at the Evidence.
Oct 7, 2024, (Virtual) 2-4:30PM CEST - SRNT-E Non-combustible nicotine – beyond electronic cigarettes.
Oct 8, 2024, 9 AM - 12:15 PM PT (Virtual) - the UCSF Annual Tobacco and Other Industry Documents Workshop. More info here.
Oct 13-17, 2024, Edinburgh, Scotland - CORESTA Congress 2024
Oct 14-17, 2024 (In-person) PA, US - Clearing the Air® Institute. American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation
Oct 15, 2024, (Virtual) 12-1 PM EST - Addressing the Harmful Effects of Tobacco Related Stigma.
Oct 15, 2024, US (Virtual) - FDLI Introduction to Tobacco Law and Regulation. You can follow them on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Facebook.
*NEW* Oct 16, 2024, UK 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM (Virtual) - Introduction to ontologies and the Behaviour Change Intervention Ontology.
*NEW* Oct 17, 2024, Prague, Czech Republic (In-person) - Global Anti-Illicit Trade Summit, Europe.
Oct 19, 2024, (In-person & Virtual) Malaysia, - Harm Reduction Conference 2024.
Oct 23-25, 2024, Lisbon, Portugal - LISBON ADDICTIONS European Conference on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies. (Some of the sessions are about tobacco/nicotine.)
Oct 23-25, 2024, Broadbeach, Australia - Oceania Tobacco Control Conference 2024. See list of Conflict of Interest Principles.
Oct 23, 2024, Washington DC, US (In-person and Virtual) - FDLI Tobacco and Nicotine Products Regulatory Science Symposium. You can follow them on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Facebook.
Oct 24-25,2024, Washington DC, US (In-person and Virtual) - FDLI Tobacco and Nicotine Products Regulation and Policy Conference. You can follow them on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Facebook.
Oct 27-30, 2024, Minneapolis, MN, US - 2024 APHA Annual Meeting and Expo (Public Health). Register here.
Oct 28, 2024, Charleston, SC, US (In-Person & Virtual) 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM ET - Susan Rosenblatt lecture: Brian King
Oct 28-29, 2024, Charleston, SC, US (Virtual and In-Person) 2024 NICOTINE AND TOBACCO SCIENCE CONFERENCE
November - COPD Awareness Month
November - Lung Cancer Awareness Month
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 12, 2024, San Francisco, CA, US (In-person) 9 AM - 5 PM PT Free - Introduction to Causal Research Methods. Note: Registration Deadline September 25, 2024.
Nov 12, 2024, San Francisco, CA, US (In-person) 9 AM - 5 PM PT Free - Introduction to Difference-in-Differences. Note: Registration Deadline September 25, 2024.
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, Chicago, IL, US—AMERSA Conference—Note: We won't know until the agenda is announced if nicotine will be part of this year's conference.
Nov 14-16, 2024, Ontario, Canada - CSAM-SMCA 2024 Scientific Conference.
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, National Harbor, MD, US 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET (In-Person) FREE - Introduction to Causal Research Methods. Note: Registration Deadline September 25, 2024.
Nov 21-23, 2024, National Harbor, MD, US Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management - Fall Research Conference. (APPAM)
Nov 21, 2024, Great American Smokeout
December 5, 2024, UK (Virtual and In-person), E-Cigarette Summit UK
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.
Committee Openings
FDLI - Applications for 2025 Committee Service are Now Open. Application Deadline is September 20, 2024.
Research Participants Wanted
UCL seeks people who vape to participate in a 30-minute lab-based study.
Positions Available
Rutgers: Data Analyst.
Wanted: Conference/Seminar Submissions…
TOPS Tobacco Online Policy Seminar call for papers/nominations. The submission deadline is October 7, 2024.
Call for Papers
Themed issue/section on Non-Medicinal Oral Nicotine Products. Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024
Tobacco Use in Adolescents and Youth. A special issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024
Tobacco Use, Vaping, Heating, Nicotine Dependence, Smoking Cessation, and Public Health. A special issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024
Cancer prevention. Submission Deadline: 11 October 2024
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
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
Scroll down for 2025 opportunities
Call for Papers
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
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
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 15-19, 2025 Seattle, WA, US - Society for Social Work and Research.
Feb 13-15, 2025, Boston, MA, US - 2025 AAAS ANNUAL MEETING. AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE
Mar 5, 2025 York, UK (In-person & Virtual SCAH - Smoking Cessation and Health Conference.
Mar 12-15, 2025 New Orleans, LA, US - SRNT 31st Annual Meeting
Mar 27-29, 2025 - Phoenix, AZ, US - 31st Nicotine Dependence Center Conference 2025: The Evolving Tobacco Landscape and Implications for Policy and Practice.
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 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 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 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.