Health and science

There remains a worryingly large amount of research on novel nicotine products which makes casual, almost always negative, assumptions…and the occasional item so faulty it should never have been published at all…

Nicotine use among US adolescents remained stable in 2022, after a significant decrease in 2020 and 2021, according to a national survey…

Based on recently published Gallup data, more than twice as many young adults in the US say they smoke cannabis as smoke conventional cigarettes…

Many companies, some countries, and of course consumers in their millions are making headway in replacing combustible tobacco with safer alternatives…but what’s holding back the others?…

This report focuses on the nicotine consumption journey in the UK by analysing the time periods for which each respondent has used tobacco alternatives – such as vaping products and nicotine pouches – in addition to the time they have used traditional cigarettes…

Using nicotine pouches can lead to higher nicotine intake than smoking, according to Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR)…

Smoking cigarettes is going out of fashion, but having smoked cannabis is becoming much more common in the US, according to recent research conducted by analytics and polling firm Gallup…

As novel nicotine products grow in popularity, it’s only a matter of time before false links are drawn between them and the use of some other substance, be it cannabis or combustible tobacco or saturated fats…

Scientists need to communicate more effectively with politicians and the public to ensure the US overcomes a long-held prohibitionist mindset on tobacco harm reduction, according to some public health experts…

A proposed US ban on menthol cigarettes and flavoured cigars, which would also apply to heated tobacco products – currently regulated as conventional cigarettes – has stirred up strong passions either way…

Cristine Delnevo, the new chair of the US FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC), has been hailed as an “objective, thoughtful scientist” with an understanding of research into harm reduction…

While nicotine pouches are classed in the EU as food products with an unauthorised ingredient, it could be argued that there is nothing novel about tobacco, or nicotine, in food – and it could have an important future too…

While nicotine pouches are growing in popularity fast, the state of science on their safety remains threadbare…

Scientific research into novel nicotine alternatives has so far largely focused on vaping, but that is likely to change as the products become more widespread…

Public health in the north of England continues to be ignored in favour of supporting more affluent and Tory-leaning areas in the south and Midlands, according to a new survey…

The author of a new study linking snus with smoking cessation has called on the World Health Organization “to move from rejecting tobacco harm reduction to promoting it”…

Innovation in nicotine pouches – better release profile, longer lasting flavour and effect – is coming from an unexpected area… the remarkable world of concrete…

Recognition of the role vaping can play in the future of public health in England has been welcomed – but there is some disappointment that the positive approach does not extend to other alternatives to smoking…

On international World No Tobacco Day tobacco alternatives such as pouches were not excluded from the criticisms…

Next-generation tobacco products are not the solution to damage caused by the tobacco industry to both public health and the environment, according to speakers at a World Health Organization (WHO) conference…

Most tobacco companies are keen to be seen supporting the concept of harm reduction, especially through reduced-risk products like e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn and pouches. But how far is their support for the idea actually having an effect on their activities right now, as well as their future direction?…

The World Health Organization (WHO)’s rejection of a new Covid-19 vaccine on anti-tobacco grounds will almost certainly end up having a negative impact on public health – particularly in the developing world…

Speaking at the launch of the seventh edition of the Atlas, US public health scholar Jeffrey Drope suggested that new nicotine technologies are “a huge distraction” which have “confused governments, the public health community and the public”…