GFN News

The WHO’s misleading claims are fueling dangerous misconceptions about nicotine and safer alternatives to smoking. From misinformation about EVALI and popcorn lung to claims about nicotine causing cancer, these false narratives can have real consequences — even pushing people back towards smoking. What does the scientific evidence actually say, and who pays the price when public health messaging ignores it?

Prohibition always extracts a price. In Australia, Tim Andrews argues those paying the price are smokers denied access to safer alternatives and the community, which must live with flourishing illicit markets, violence driven by organized crime, and a massive loss of tax revenue. Joining RegWatch on GFN at the Global Forum on Nicotine in Warsaw, Poland, the Director of Consumer Issues at Americans for Tax Reform and Tholos Foundation examines the human and economic costs of prohibition. He challenges the moral authority of a tobacco control movement he says puts ideology ahead of smokers’ lives.

Featuring:

TIM ANDREWS

Director of Consumer Issues

Americans for Tax Reform & Tholos Foundation

@Tim_Andrews

prohibitiondoesnotwork.com

Does regulation itself shape what people believe about nicotine and vaping? And why do so many people believe that nicotine causes cancer and other diseases?

In this GFN Science Lab presentation, economist Fernando Briseño explores the relationship between tobacco regulation and public perceptions of nicotine risk. Drawing on a multinational survey experiment conducted in Mexico, Argentina and Chile, the research examines whether informing people about the regulatory status of vaping products influences how harmful they believe these products to be.

The study compares perceptions across countries with different regulatory environments and investigates beliefs about the relative harm of vaping and smoking, nicotine addiction, and the health risks attributed to nicotine.

Canada’s approach to nicotine pouch regulation has created a system that puts pharmacists at the centre of access to authorised products — while unauthorised pouches remain widely available. Has the policy achieved its intended goals, or has it created new problems?

In this GFN Science Lab presentation from GFN 2026 in Warsaw, pharmacist Todd Prochnau examines Canada’s pharmacy-centric regulatory model and its implications for public health, smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction.

Poland is tightening its regulation of nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes — but are rising taxes and expanding restrictions creating unintended consequences?

At GFN26 Ewelina Woike-Reguła and Robert Boneczko examine Poland’s rapidly changing regulatory and fiscal landscape, from steep excise duty increases to proposed flavour restrictions on nicotine pouches and a possible ban on disposable e-cigarettes.

The discussion explores how Poland has extended excise duties to new product categories, including vaping devices, and how businesses have responded to rules that struggle to keep pace with the market. With further changes under consideration, the speakers highlight concerns about regulatory uncertainty, the growth of the grey and black markets, and the potential risks for consumers.

Why is smoking declining in New Zealand while Australia’s approach is fuelling a dangerous black market? In this excerpt from GFNTV’s interview at GFN 2026 in Warsaw, Australian GP Dr Joe Kosterich contrasts New Zealand’s approach to tobacco harm reduction with Australia’s restrictive policies on safer nicotine products.

Is regulation keeping up with the evidence?

As the European Union considers the future regulation of non-combustible tobacco and nicotine products, an important question emerges: is the available scientific evidence being assessed fully, consistently and transparently?

In this Science Lab presentation, Carrie Wade examines the EU’s Better Regulation Framework and the evidence used in the recent evaluation of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). She argues that sound regulation requires a broad and balanced evidence base—including quantitative and qualitative data, expert input, stakeholder perspectives, uncertainties and conflicting findings.

Dr. Joe Kosterich first took an interest in nicotine vapes when patients who struggled to quit smoking quit thanks to vaping. Then Australia made the products they relied on nearly impossible to buy legally. Shot on location at GFN 2026 in Warsaw, the Australian GP explains how restrictions drove vape sales into the black market, where consumers face unregulated products and criminal gangs fight for control. Kosterich argues that public health’s war on nicotine has lost sight of the people it was meant to help.

Featuring:

DR. JOE KOSTERICH

Physician, Health Industry Consultant

@drjoesDIYhealth

drjoetoday.com

What does the current evidence tell us about the cardiovascular impact of novel tobacco and nicotine products?

In this presentation from Global Forum on Nicotine 2026, Dr. Thomas Nahde discusses a narrative review examining cardiovascular health and the potential impact of switching from combustible cigarettes to non-combustible nicotine products.

The review brings together 221 publications, covering experimental research, clinical studies and population-level evidence. It examines cardiovascular toxicant exposure, biomarkers of potential harm, atherosclerosis-related mechanisms, and evidence surrounding e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches.

France has recently prohibited nicotine pouches. Jean-François Etter discusses what prohibition could mean for consumers, quality control, illicit markets and criminal groups and why the demand for nicotine pouches may not simply disappear.