Despite decades of progress in tobacco control, smoking remains widespread across Europe. In countries like Germany, millions continue to smoke with little motivation to quit, leaving policymakers and scientists searching for pragmatic ways to reduce the toll of combustible tobacco. A recent article in Internal and Emergency Medicine by aerosol chemist Reinhard Niessner brings the…
Around the world, governments are rethinking how best to regulate tobacco and nicotine products in light of new science and innovation. Traditional tobacco control has long focused on restrictions and prohibitions, but the emergence of smoke-free alternatives, such as heated tobacco, e-cigarettes, and oral nicotine pouches, demands a more nuanced, evidence-based approach. The Need for…
Argentina is at a crossroads in its approach to tobacco control. Despite the country’s strong public health traditions and high burden of smoking-related disease, harm reduction strategies that could save lives remain absent from official policy. While other nations in Latin America and beyond are cautiously exploring safer nicotine alternatives, Argentina continues to rely on…
Australia now has one of the most restrictive nicotine control regimes in the developed world. Cigarettes face some of the highest taxes globally, while consumer nicotine vaping products are virtually banned. Intended to curb smoking, these policies have instead fuelled a thriving black market for tobacco and vapes, bringing with it organised crime, violence, and…
Despite decades of stigma, nicotine continues to reveal surprising roles in brain health through its interaction with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). From improving attention to potentially slowing neurodegeneration, new science challenges outdated assumptions—and calls for a more nuanced conversation. Cognition and Mood: Nicotine’s Modulatory Role Nicotine’s primary mechanism of action in the brain is through…
Norway’s continued ban on nicotine pouches, in force since 2017, is one of the strictest policies in Europe. Despite mounting evidence that these products are significantly less harmful than cigarettes, they remain prohibited for sale and even private import. The intent, officials say, is to protect youth from nicotine initiation. Yet, many experts argue this…
From the betel-stained smiles of Southeast Asia to Scandinavia’s sleek pouch packaging, the rise of oral nicotine is not a one-size-fits-all story. Regional traditions, risk perceptions, and regulatory choices are shaping the path of harm reduction around the world, highlighting both promise and pitfalls. Southeast Asia: Tradition Meets Resistance Southeast Asia is home to more…
Public misunderstanding of nicotine remains a major obstacle to harm reduction, and the consequences are lethal. Despite decades of public health education about the dangers of smoking, many people still confuse nicotine with the primary causes of cancer and disease. But it’s not nicotine that causes lung cancer, emphysema, and heart disease, it’s the burning…
By Joseph Magero Kenya is on the brink of a pivotal decision in its tobacco control journey. The Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill 2024, now under review by the Senate, is poised to introduce long-overdue regulation of new nicotine products, specifically nicotine pouches, e-cigarettes, and other smokeless alternatives that have until now existed in legal limbo.…
India’s tobacco landscape is uniquely complex and deeply rooted in social, regional, and cultural practices. This narrative review examines how tradition, yes, but also inequality and economic factors, shape tobacco use, and what that means for policy. Deep Roots: Tobacco as Tradition and Livelihood Tobacco in India isn’t new, it’s woven into rituals, social ceremonies,…