GFN•TV: News and Interviews

Belgium is rapidly tightening its vaping and smoking rules — from banning disposable e-cigarettes in January 2025 to prohibiting outdoor smoking and vaping on terraces from 2027, and removing smoking rooms in bars, airports, and shisha lounges. In this interview, Joanna speaks with Alberto Gómez Hernández, Policy Manager at the World Vapers’ Alliance, about what’s changing, why it’s happening, and whether these measures.

Maria Papaioannoy-Duic, founder and spokesperson of Rights for Vapers, speaks with Joanna Junak about the challenges Canadian vapers face in being heard in public health debates. Maria shares how her organization has worked tirelessly to educate consumers on safer nicotine alternatives, fight misinformation, and give a voice to those seeking harm reduction over prohibition.

Extending THR into other disciplines and communities, is essential. Obvious targets are in the fields of drug use and mental health - evidence is clear concerning levels of smoking and associated health risks - but there is need to engage more widely. The panel addressed the barriers to extending reach, including how can we dispel myths and tackle miscommunication? What role does the media have in the process? Who are the key opinion leaders and groups, what are the initial steps in reaching out and how can we support ongoing dialogue?

Get an in-depth look at the upcoming 11th session of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Conference, scheduled for November 2025 in Geneva. This video explores the registration process for attending the conference, the challenges faced by harm reduction groups, and the importance of consumer representation in tobacco and nicotine policy discussions.

It was perhaps inevitable that once smoking was “handled,” tobacco control would turn its fire on nicotine. From the UK’s disposable vape ban to EU pouch restrictions and the WHO’s war on nicotine, prohibition is on the march. Shot on location at GFN 2025 in Warsaw, Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, delivers a stark assessment: public health is recycling old fears, ignoring evidence, and steering policy into prohibitionist chaos. With governments fueling black markets and pushing vapers back to smoking, Snowdon warns the war on nicotine has only just begun.

Featuring:
CHRISTOPHER SNOWDON
Head of Lifestyle Econ., Inst. of Economic Affairs
Author, columnist, public health critic
iea.org.uk
nannystateindex.org

Welcome to the Science Lab session hosted by Karin Jacobson from JTI Geneva. In this presentation, Anna Masser from Swedish Match discusses nicotine content and nicotine uptake in cigarettes and nicotine pouches, comparing their delivery methods, uptake rates, and how they are used both in clinical settings and real life.

The video covers:
- Differences between nicotine delivery in cigarettes vs. nicotine pouches
- Standardized clinical testing protocols for nicotine uptake
- Pharmacokinetic profiles and plasma nicotine concentration over time
- Real-world use comparison of nicotine pouches and cigarettes
- Insights into nicotine metabolism and cotinine levels
- Discussion on regulated nicotine limits and product risk profiles
- Audience Q&A addressing nicotine kinetics and product comparisons

GFN News speaks with Filter’s Will Godfrey about reports of dramatic increases in vaping-related emergency department visits across several US states, especially among youth, and examines what those numbers truly represent beyond the headlines. The conversation highlights how headlines like “teen ER visits surge” can obscure distinctions between acute nicotine toxicity and far more subjective “e‑cigarette dependence” admissions that have driven much of the increase in reported cases. The discussion also explores how clinicians may mark visits as vape-related simply because a patient discloses vaping, even when it’s incidental to the medical issue, potentially inflating counts without reflecting actual vaping-caused harm.

Toxicologist Autumn Bernal explains why harm reduction keeps her in the fight: reducing disease burden for adult smokers through better product design, rigorous toxicology, and clear science communication. She highlights the core engineering challenge for ENDS: optimizing heating to minimize emissions while effectively delivering nicotine - without the harmful constituents found in cigarettes.

Challenging misconceptions can save lives. Too often, outdated beliefs and misinformation prevent people from accessing safer alternatives to cigarettes. Today, Dr. Sud Patwardhan sheds light on how evidence-based strategies can help cut tobacco-related harm, especially in low- and middle-income countries where the burden of smoking is highest.

Australia’s vape prohibition is fueling a booming illicit market—while New Zealand’s regulated approach sees smoking rates fall faster. In this GFN 2025 conversation, Fiona Patten speaks with Rohan Pike and Asa Saligupta about what’s broken in tobacco control, what actually works in harm reduction.