For too long, the voices of nicotine consumers have been sidelined, silenced, or willfully excluded from the global policy stage. From WHO COP meetings to local regulations, the people most impacted by these decisions are often the only ones without a seat at the table.
In this episode of GFN News, Zuzanna Kopacz speaks with Will Godfrey, Editor of Filter, about the launch of THR Global. This new platform is more than just a website—it is a mission to reclaim the narrative through the power of lived experience.
Transcription:
00:00 - 00:32
[Zuzanna Kopacz]
Welcome to GFN News on GFN TV. I'm Zuzanna Kopacz and today we'll be speaking with Will Godfrey of Filter about a new effort to get the voices of nicotine consumers heard. Hi Will, what's been happening?
00:34 - 01:03
[Will Godfrey]
Hi Zuza, a new website called THR Global collates real-life testimonies from individuals who use safer nicotine products instead of smoking. It presents these personal harm reduction stories from all over the world, organized by country and city and by the type of safer alternative used. The project was conceived and built by leading South African THR advocate, Kurt Yu, who operates the site with some colleagues, as Kieran Sidhu reported for Filter.
01:04 - 01:07
[Zuzanna Kopacz]
And what's the purpose of THR Global?
01:08 - 02:48
[Will Godfrey]
Its aim is to address an issue that THR advocates have come up against over and over again. The voices of nicotine consumers offer a critical and irreplaceable blend of deep knowledge and experience about what works and what doesn't for quitting smoking, i.e. tackling the world's biggest cause of preventable death. Yet these voices are routinely sidelined in media and willfully excluded from policy deliberations that impact them directly, from the World Health Organization's COP meetings downwards. The old harm reduction slogan goes, nothing about us without us. For far too long in the nicotine space, it's been everything about us without us, as well-funded prohibitionist groups and so-called experts who've never used nicotine in their lives hold the floor. I have always felt that the stories shared by people who have used safer nicotine products to quit traditional tobacco are so vitally important. Kurt, who himself quit smoking through THR, told Kieran. But they almost never get the attention in the areas that count the most, he continued. Consumers and consumer groups almost never get a seat at the table where decisions are made or even at some conferences where tobacco harm reduction is discussed. If someone spends just five minutes with someone who has made the switch, they will be amazed by the level of detail many of these people can share about their journey, Kurt said. Those details, together with moving life stories, which I recommend reading, are presented on the new site. And the goal is that by aggregating them in this way, these voices will become harder to ignore.
02:49 - 02:54
[Zuzanna Kopacz]
And what will be needed for this new project to maximize its impact?
02:55 - 03:41
[Will Godfrey]
The next step is to build up a critical mass of testimonies, which you can submit on the website. I urge all who are interested to encourage their respective communities to share their stories, Kurt said. Its success relies on participation. Some people may need to overcome understandable reservations to do this. As Kurt noted, a lot of consumers are sick of submitting public comments for proposed regulations only for the outcomes to show that they've not been taken seriously yet again. Anyone would feel discouraged, but he's determined to use these stories to make a difference. The success of having THR confirmed as a very real solution relies on evidence, Kurt said. Consumers are central to that evidence.
03:43 - 03:59
[Zuzanna Kopacz]
Thank you, Will. That's all for today. Join us next time on GFN TV or tune in to our podcast. And don't forget to follow us on social media for the latest updates from this year's Global Forum on Nicotine conference. Thanks for watching or listening and see you soon.