GFN•TV: News and Interviews

The battle over safer nicotine products is certainly about health, but it’s also about something more important: autonomy. As governments embrace nicotine restrictions driven by moral panic and public health paternalism, adult choice is increasingly treated as a threat instead of a right to be respected.

In this episode of GFN Interviews, Reem Ibrahim of Reason examines the growing conflict between individual freedom and population-level control. From disposable vape bans and black markets to anti-capitalist hostility toward tobacco harm reduction, Ibrahim argues public health is drifting toward prohibition and away from the people it claims to protect.

Featuring:
REEM IBRAHIM
Research Fellow, Policy & Media, Reason Magazine
@reemamiribrahim
reemabrahim.com

Episode originally aired on October 20th 2022.

It’s very clear that “the war on drugs has metastasized to a war on vaping,” says Dr. Alex Wodak, physician, and renowned leader of the drugs harm reduction movement. While tobacco harm reduction advocates will have to endure “fear and smear” campaigns by entrenched prohibitionists within tobacco control, THR will succeed in the end.

Featuring:
DR. ALEX WODAK
Physician, Internal Medicine
Board Member, Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association
Former Director, Alcohol and Drug Services, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney
Twitter: @AlexWodak

What does it take to implement life-saving public health programs in the Middle East and Africa? In this episode of GFN Insights, Amjad Malaeb from MENAHRA shares the critical challenges and breakthroughs of harm reduction in this region.

In this interview, public health expert Amjad Malaeb dives into his five-year journey working with the Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA). Amjad discusses how the organization has expanded its scope from HIV-focused harm reduction for people who use drugs to a holistic healthcare approach addressing tuberculosis (TB) and hepatitis. Discover the harsh realities of navigating complex political and security landscapes, the critical role of stakeholder and community engagement, and how the Global Fund MENA Learning Hub is empowering local communities with essential knowledge.

Is the UK’s "smoke-free generation" plan destined to backfire?

In this episode of GFN News, host Zuzanna Kopacz sits down with author and freelance writer Jacob Grier to unpack the practical realities and hidden dangers of the newly passed UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

While the policy aims to create a smoke-free generation by phasing out legal tobacco sales for anyone born after 2009, Grier argues that the legislation ignores the needs of current smokers. Worse yet, by introducing sweeping bans on vape advertising and targeting alternative nicotine flavors, the bill threatens to shut down the very pathways that help smokers successfully switch to lower-risk harm reduction products.

Despite low female smoking rates in the country, women face unique, hidden challenges when trying to access safer nicotine alternatives. Hannah Chidaya shares her personal and professional motivations for bringing these voices to light , highlighting the critical gaps in policy, education, and market regulation that leave Malawian women behind.

Twenty years after the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control came into force, has the treaty lost its way? According to Jeannie Cameron, the answer is yes. Cameron is a tobacco policy expert with a background in international law who observed the FCTC negotiations from the beginning. She says a treaty once focused on reducing smoking-related disease has morphed into a global system hostile to tobacco harm reduction. From NGO influence and prohibitionist thinking to the demonization of safer nicotine products, tobacco control has drifted far from its original purpose and now risks lives.

Featuring:
JEANNIE CAMERON
CEO/Managing Dir., JCIC International Consultancy
Fmr. V.P. International, Juul Labs
Fmr. Head of International Advocacy, BAT
@JCICJeannie

In this episode of GFN News, we sit down with Kurt Yeo to discuss the launch of THR Global, a new platform designed to bridge the gap between personal experience and policy-grade evidence.

Kurt shares his powerful "Building Block" analogy, explaining why a "giant bag" of random testimonials often fails to move the needle. By extracting specific data points - like smoking history, failed quit attempts, and product usage - THR Global is turning individual stories into a structured, global evidence base that policy makers can no longer overlook.

Miguel Garcia, the founder of THR News, breaks down the critical state of tobacco harm reduction (THR) in Mexico. Facing a "rain of disinformation" and a constitutional prohibition on vaping, Miguel explains why providing evidence-based information is more than a choice - it's a necessity for public health.

Today we explore the rise of harm reduction across the Middle East and North Africa through the story of MENAHRA and the activists, healthcare workers, and organizations fighting stigma, HIV, and outdated drug policies. In regions where addiction and public health issues are often heavily stigmatized, harm reduction became more than healthcare — it became a movement for human rights and survival.

Video originally aired on March 24th 2023.

Is the science publishing industry broken? Sarah Cooney doesn't think so. Learn more in advance of her keynote at GFN23.

Featuring:
Sarah Cooney
Scientist & Science Communicator
Former Head of Scientific Collaboration & Communication British American Tobacco, BAT
Director, Cooney Scientific Limited
@SarahCooneyMcQ