Latest news with #GlobalForumonNicotine
Daily Express
22-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Express
12th Global Forum on Nicotine experts fault WHO inaction
Published on: Tuesday, July 22, 2025 Published on: Tue, Jul 22, 2025 By: David Thien Text Size: WARSAW: The World Health Organization (WHO) was taken to task for its refusal to recognise scientific outcomes that prove alternative nicotine products help some 1.3 billion smokers in the world quit the habit, or transition to a less harmful to their health options. This view was shared by many expert participants at the 12th Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN 2025) that was held in Poland at the Warsaw Presidential Hotel from June 19 to 21, 2025. They were scientists and doctors among other professionals. It was reported that smoking causes some 8 million deaths around the world. It is well established that nicotine does not cause smoking-related diseases, which result instead from the inhalation of toxicants in tobacco smoke. High quality independent evidence supporting the role of safer nicotine products in smoking cessation is growing. Vapes, pouches, pasteurised snus and heated tobacco products (HTPs) all deliver nicotine without combustion, leading to substantially reduced health risks in comparison to continued smoking. There was consensus that fear-driven narratives about safer nicotine products means prolonged misery and death for smokers as pervasive misconceptions about safer nicotine products and their role in smoking cessation could see tobacco harm reduction fail to fulfil its huge potential. The Global Forum on Nicotine is organised by Global Forum on Nicotine Limited, an events company committed to providing a platform for global public health debate, knowledge exchange and networking, underpinned by the principles of inclusiveness and multi-sectoral engagement. It does not receive sponsorship from manufacturers, distributors or retailers of nicotine products including pharmaceutical, vaping and tobacco companies. Conference-supporting organisations endorse the event, but have no financial or administrative involvement in organisation of the event. According to Riccardo Polosa, professor of medicine at the University of Catania in Italy, the World Health Organization (WHO) is actively misleading the public about the relative risk of nicotine products compared to cigarettes on purpose. 'They select their references and distort the evidence. There is one single objective, in my opinion, which is to create their own science that supports the abstinence-only narrative,' he says. 'But this has terrible consequences for millions of smokers who would otherwise switch to much less harmful products. In the clinical world, this would be called negligence,' he said, in a special session marked 20 years of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), in which leading voices examined the treaty's impact. 'The FCTC has succeeded politically and legally,' said Jeannie Cameron, a policy consultant. 'But if we measure success by reductions in smoking and tobacco-related deaths, it has failed.' 'We still have over a billion smokers worldwide. The FCTC was meant to reduce cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory disease,' said Derek Yach, a former WHO director. 'Tobacco harm reduction is the obvious way to stop this crisis in its tracks.' Global experts are tackling a barrier that continues to undermine efforts to reduce the annual 8 million premature deaths related to smoking: misinformation and miscommunication about safer nicotine products and tobacco harm reduction (THR). The GFN 2025 is challenging perceptions as effective communication for tobacco harm reduction conference is a call to action for change. While science increasingly supports safer nicotine products like vapes, snus, pouches and heated tobacco as tools to help smokers switch away from combustibles, fear-driven narratives continue to dominate media and policy. In a keynote lecture Jacob Grier, a journalist covering tobacco policy who has written for Slate and The Atlantic, talked about the disconnect between the evidence for tobacco harm reduction – utility of products like vapes and snus as safer alternatives to continued smoking – and the fact that hostile media narratives are shaping public opinion and health policies. How can impactful, evidence-based messaging be built that respects both reduced-risk products and consumer autonomy? 'Obviously we need to emphasize credible research. The bad news is that having the facts on our side is clearly not enough,' Grier said. 'Journalists seek novelty, so if something isn't new, it isn't news. Millions of people dying from smoking isn't a story, but a few dozen people dying from adulterated [THC or cannabis] vapes generates months of media coverage.' The Global Forum on Nicotine is the only global event that welcomes all stakeholders involved with new and safer nicotine products, including: consumers and consumer advocates; public health experts; policy analysts, parliamentarians and government officials; academics and researchers; product manufacturers and distributors; and media representatives. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Daily Express
21-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Express
Chinese pharmacist who made e-cigs possible
Published on: Monday, July 21, 2025 Published on: Mon, Jul 21, 2025 By: David Thien Text Size: Hon Lik puffs on an electronic tobacco pipe. - AFP pic. WARSAW: Electronic cigarettes would not be around today had a Chinese pharmacist not decide to do something about his smoking habit back in 2001. Hon Lik who was using high-dose nicotine patches to stop smoking devised a system on a large console using food additives as solvents. Advertisement The challenge was managing to scale the mechanism down to a miniature size, suitable for a hand-held cigarette-sized device, and getting the right dose of nicotine while also getting the right odours from additives. A year earlier he developed the idea of using a piezoelectric ultrasound-emitting element to vaporise a pressurised jet of liquid containing nicotine diluted in a propylene glycol solution. Hon also proposed placing the liquid in a disposable plastic cartridge, which serves as a reservoir and mouthpiece. These inventions are the basis of the present-day electronic cigarettes which many wanting to kick the habit rely on. Hon patented his device in China and the first electronic cigarette was manufactured that same year in Beijing. The story of Hon Lik was documented at the 12th Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN 2025) at the Warsaw Presidential Hotel from June 19 to 21. Hon Lik accepted patronage of the Global Forum on Nicotine in 2015, which offers a platform for debate and information-sharing, while remaining focussed on the ultimate goal of tobacco harm reduction: accelerating the end of smoking-related death and disease. More than 8 million out of some 1.3 billion who still smoke die yearly. Scientific data show that the primary cause is high levels of Harmful and Potentially Harmful Constituents or HPHCs in smoke formed during the combustion of tobacco. According to Dr Mark Tyndall, the author of 'Vaping – Behind the Smoke and Fears', there are more than one billion smokers globally and the vast majority would die prematurely from smoking-related diseases. 'What people don't know is that there is a cure: vaping. Vaping is a non-toxic way to deliver the nicotine that smokers need without the disease-producing byproducts of burning tobacco. 'Compared with cigarettes, any health risks associated with vaping are very small,' he told the 12th Global Forum on Nicotine 2025 where he launched his book. PMI's Scientific Engagement Manager Markus Stratman told Daily Express during a media engagement at PMI's state-of-the-art research and development centre, The Cube, that nicotine patches sold in pharmacies have limited success in curbing smoking. This is because smokers do not experience the necessary level of nicotine delivery to effectively address their cravings. Harm reduction is an evidence-based public health approach grounded in human rights. It consists of pragmatic policies, regulations and actions that reduce health risks to individuals and communities by, for example, providing access to safer forms of products or substances, or encouraging less risky behaviours. Harm reduction does not focus on the eradication of products or behaviours, recognising that prohibition often leads to unintended consequences. Evidence-based, it first emerged during the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis, successfully helping reduce transmission with advice on safer sex and interventions like needle exchange for people who use drugs. The Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN) has been held yearly since 2014. It is the only international conference to focus on the role of safer nicotine products in helping people switch from smoking combustible cigarettes. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Cision Canada
17-06-2025
- Health
- Cision Canada
Global Panel Urges Rapid Reform of WHO and FCTC to Embrace Science, Transparency, and Consumer Voices
WASHINGTON, June 17, 2025 /CNW/ -- The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is leading a robust and candid panel discussion on Wednesday alongside the Global Forum on Nicotine in Warsaw, Poland. Consumer advocates will issue a resounding call for urgent reform of the taxpayer-funded World Health Organization (WHO) and its tobacco control arm, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The panel argues that years of politicized policymaking, opaque governance, and disregard for consumer perspectives have rendered the FCTC increasingly ineffective and out of touch with scientific and social realities. Calls for reform of international health institutions have intensified in recent years, with the WHO's pandemic response drawing widespread criticism and renewed scrutiny of its broader governance failures. The FCTC has not been immune. With smoking rates not declining in many regions and growing disillusionment about the Convention's approach, panellists say it's time for a serious reset. Martin Cullip, TPA International Fellow, observes that it has been clear for some time that WHO policies are missing the mark. "The FCTC has become a political instrument rather than a science-based treaty. If the WHO is serious about reform, the FCTC must be radically overhauled." Ignacio Leiva, President of ASOVAPE in Chile, shares his country's perspective. "In Chile, including consumer voices helped us pass a law that recognizes the difference between smoking and vaping. That's exactly what the FCTC needs. Evidence-based policymaking built on dialogue, not dogma." Nancy Loucas, representing Asian consumers, highlights the real-world harms of the WHO's current stance. "The WHO's policy shift against tobacco harm reduction ignores decades of evidence and disproportionately punishes low and middle-income countries. This isn't public health, it's health inequality." Consumer advocacy is a recurring theme, with speakers emphasising the importance of hearing from the people most affected by nicotine policies. Maria Papaioannoy of Rights 4 Vapers, Canada, emphasizes that "it's critical to counter the misinformation about safer nicotine products, especially when it comes from those in power. Consumers have voices, and it's time they were heard at FCTC COP11." Tom Gleeson, Trustee of New Nicotine Alliance Ireland, echoes the call for evidence-based reform. "The FCTC hasn't adapted since 2005 to account for safer nicotine products," he said. "Instead, it pats itself on the back for reducing percentages while the number of smokers stays the same. The war on tobacco shouldn't come at the cost of the very people it's meant to help." The panel discussion concludes with a unified appeal. Reform must focus on transparency, scientific integrity, and consumer inclusion. Participants call on the WHO and FCTC to step away from ideological posturing and prohibitionist strategies and instead commit to pragmatic policies that save lives. The panel's message is clear. Real reform starts when science speaks louder than politics and when the people most affected are invited to the table.
