GFN•TV: News and Interviews

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

In a years-long campaign to eradicate smoking, Australia’s tobacco control establishment has lost all control of the nicotine market. Former law enforcement officer Rohan Pike says 70–80% of the tobacco market is now illicit, while roughly 95% of vaping has been pushed into criminal hands. The founder of Australia’s first Tobacco Strike Team explains how excessive taxes, vape prohibition, and policy denial empowered organized crime.

Featuring:
ROHAN PIKE
Illicit Trade Advisor,
Sr. Australian Federal Police Officer,
Founder, Tobacco Strike Team
pikeconsulting.com.au

One of the world’s leading harm reduction advocates sees disaster unfolding in Australia. Sky-high tobacco taxes and sweeping restrictions on nicotine vaping were meant to reduce harm—but instead, they’ve fueled a booming illicit market, siphoned billions in public revenue, and triggered a wave of violence tied to organized crime. In this GFN Interviews, Dr. Alex Wodak explains how Australia’s approach has veered into “quasi prohibition,” driving demand into the black market and overwhelming enforcement.

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

Australia’s vape crackdown was supposed to curb youth use—but in practice, it has created prohibition by proxy. While still legal, access to nicotine vapes is tightly controlled and choice is so severely limited that over 90% of all vapes in Australia are purchased on the black market.

In this episode of GFN Interviews, Australian GP Dr. Carolyn Beaumont examines how this system frustrates access to safer nicotine—from restrictive product approvals to medical guidelines that offer little real support for harm reduction.

Featuring:
DR. CAROLYN BEAUMONT, MD
Australian General Practitioner/Family Physician

Episode aired originally on April 21st 2023.

When scientists study the chemistry of smoke versus vapor, they find a massive difference in complexity and measurable effect on the human body. Learn what those differences are in this fascinating interview with a top tobacco scientist.

Featuring: Dr Marina Murphy
Director of Scientific and Medical Affairs, ANDS
Former Head of Scientific Media Relations,
British American Tobacco
@ands_corp

The video originally aired on August 4, 2023.

There’s no debate allowed on vaping in Australia, says Dr. Colin Mendelsohn, founding chairman of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association and practicing tobacco treatment specialist. Tobacco control is “impervious to evidence” and quick to cancel anyone who speaks to the positives of vaping.

Featuring:
Dr Colin Mendelsohn
Founding Chairman Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association
Practising Tobacco Treatment Specialist
@colinmendelsohn

Governments insist their nicotine policies are “evidence-based.” But a closer look reveals cherry-picked findings, flawed comparisons, and sensational claims that don’t withstand scrutiny. In this GFN interviews, independent tobacco scientist Dr. Ian Fearon explains how weak research and distorted interpretations shape global nicotine policy. From the misuse of correlation to media amplification of questionable studies, Fearon shows how flawed science fuels prohibitionist thinking—leaving smokers misinformed about safer alternatives that could reduce the harms of smoking.

Featuring:
DR. IAN FEARON
Director, Independent Research Scientist
whatIF? Consulting, UK 

Sweden’s smoke-free success is often credited to snus, but that’s only half the story. While snus appealed to many men looking to quit smoking, for women the smell, taste, and feel left something to be desired. For years, women were left without a viable alternative. That changed with nicotine pouches. Tobacco-free, discreet, and socially acceptable, they became the missing solution. In this GFN Interviews, Carissa Düring explains why nicotine pouches didn’t just complement the Sweden Model, they completed it, delivering the silver bullet public health refuses to acknowledge.

Featuring:
CARISSA DÜRING
Director, Considerate Pouchers Sweden
Consumer Advocate
consideratepouchers.org
@carissaduring

A massive opportunity to reduce smoking-related death is being squandered. In this episode of GFN Interviews, cardiometabolic physician Dr. Rohan Sequeira examines how public health distorts the public’s understanding of nicotine and risk. With South Asia bearing an enormous tobacco burden, he explains why traditional cessation approaches are failing, why safer nicotine products matter, and how misinformation continues to block harm reduction.

Public health often warns about tobacco industry interference—but what happens when tobacco control itself is captured by benevolent donors and non-profit organizations? In this GFN interview, economist Roger Bate explains why the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is uniquely vulnerable to outside influence, how Bloomberg-funded NGOs shape policy agendas upstream, and why this system consistently excludes tobacco harm reduction despite strong evidence.

Featuring:
DR. ROGER BATE
Economist, Health Policy & Medicines
Nonresident Scholar, Intl. Center for Law & Economics
laweconcenter.org
@RogerBate3