GFN•TV: News and Interviews

The debate over prohibition often focuses on intentions, but the real question is whether restrictive policies achieve their public health goals. As governments around the world consider tighter controls on nicotine and tobacco products, evidence continues to raise important questions about the unintended consequences of prohibition, including the growth of illicit markets, the role of organized crime, lost tax revenue, and reduced access to lower-risk alternatives for adults who smoke.

How much nicotine remains in a nicotine pouch after months of storage? And can formulation design improve long-term stability?

In this presentation, Anna Balconi explores preliminary research comparing conventional microcrystalline cellulose (MCC)-based nicotine pouches with a novel semi-gel-based formulation developed by Alchem NicSelect. The study examines how nicotine content changes over time and investigates whether different pouch architectures can reduce degradation caused by oxidation and evaporation.

Despite decades of prohibition, smoking remains one of the leading preventable causes of disease and death worldwide. So why do policies that restrict safer alternatives often fail to improve public health?

What’s really inside nicotine pouches? While these products are often treated as a single category, their composition can vary significantly. In this GFN Science Lab presentation, Lindsay Reese presents one of the largest compositional analyses of nicotine pouches to date, covering 446 fully tested products from 2025 (drawn from more than 500 products analyzed). The research explores key characteristics such as nicotine content, moisture, pH, impurities, heavy metals, and other chemical constituents, offering a detailed look at the diversity of products available across global markets.

What are the fundamental principles of harm reduction and how can they be applied to many areas of human activity? How can tobacco harm reduction be integrated into mainstream practice to reduce the harms of smoking for those most at risk – illicit drug users, those with poor mental health and others marginalised through economic and legal constraints? What are the obstacles to integration and how might we address and overcome these?

Among more than 100,000 people who used heroin in England, smoking accounted for 24% of premature deaths, nearly matching illegal drugs at 28%. Yet smoking remains routinely overlooked within drug treatment and harm reduction services.

Shot on location at GFN 2026 in Warsaw, Poland, David MacKintosh of the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction explains how integrating safer nicotine could deliver a low-cost, high-impact intervention that helps people live longer and healthier lives.

Featuring:
David Mackintosh
Director, Knowledge Action Change
Fmr. Chair of Trustees, Drug and Alcohol Services London kachange.eu

Can bioceramic technology change the future of nicotine delivery - or is it just another marketing buzzword?

In this video, we take a closer look at the science behind bioceramic materials and their emerging role in modern nicotine products. We examine how these materials work, what manufacturers claim they can achieve, and whether those claims are supported by current evidence.

Barriers to the marketing of novel tobacco and nicotine products, such as regulatory bans and restrictions, pose an existential threat to tobacco harm reduction and improving the health and lives of adult smokers. This workshop will take a dive into assessing the science base used to drive restrictions, focussing on several themes which are commonly used to push for stronger regulation or outright prohibition and presenting scientific counterarguments.

What drives tobacco control policy—science or ideology?

In this episode of Tobacco Harm Reduction Unfiltered, Harry Shapiro speaks with Professor David Sweanor about prohibition, tobacco harm reduction, vaping, nicotine policy, and the future of public health. They explore why evidence-based regulation matters, the role of innovation in reducing smoking, and whether prohibition can ever achieve its intended goals.

Watch for an in-depth discussion on tobacco control, smoke-free alternatives, public health policy, and harm reduction from GFN26 – Global Forum on Nicotine 2026.

Can the extensive body of epidemiological evidence on Swedish snus help us better understand the public health potential of nicotine pouches?

In this presentation, the speaker explores how decades of research on snus can inform the scientific assessment of nicotine pouches. The session examines similarities and differences between the two products, discusses the strengths and limitations of existing epidemiological evidence, and considers what current data can tell us about health risks, harm reduction, and population-level impacts.

This presentation is part of the Global Forum on Nicotine 2026 (GFN26), where international experts discuss the latest science, policy, and innovation in tobacco harm reduction.