Latest Resources
Modeling the population health impact of accurate and inaccurate perceptions of harm from nicotine
Scientific evidence clearly demonstrates that inhaling the smoke from the combustion of cigarettes is responsible for most of the harm caused by smoking, and not the nicotine. Accurate knowledge regarding the role of nicotine is associated with higher switch rates and prevention of premature deaths. Our findings suggest that promoting public education to correct perceptions of harm from nicotine has the potential to benefit public health.
Cytotoxicity, mutagenicity and genotoxicity of electronic cigarettes emission aerosols compared to cigarette smoke: the REPLICA project
Overall, this replication study supports the tobacco harm reduction strategy as having the potential to substantially reduce exposure to toxic combustion agents in adult smokers. Future studies are needed to advance in vitro methods in order to evaluate the long-term effects of electronic nicotine delivery systems.
Do sociodemographic risk profiles for adolescents engaging in weekly e-cigarette, cigarette, and dual product use differ?
Teens who have disposable income, live in a lower-income home or are gender diverse are more likely to use e-cigarettes, according to a new study at the University of Waterloo.
Instagram helps Brazilians dodge a national sales ban on vapes
As Brazilian law clashes with Meta’s policies, illegal vapes flood social media and the streets. The Brazilian government banned the sale, import, and advertising of e-cigarettes. The use of e-cigarettes has risen sharply in the country in recent years, with sales partly driven by social media platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp. Between 2018 and 2023, the number of Brazilians who admitted they had vaped in the 30 days prior to being surveyed grew from just over 499,000 people to more than 2.87 million. A 2024 report from Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security about the illegal trade of e-cigarettes on the internet warned that there’s an “expressive amount” of accounts openly selling vapes on Instagram and “facilitating its access to a younger public.”
Forecasting the effects of smoking prevalence scenarios on years of life lost and life expectancy from 2022 to 2050: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
According to the research, reducing smoking levels to less than 5% by 2050 could increase global life expectancy by one year for men and by 0.2 years for women. This is equivalent to an additional 735 million healthy years for men and 141 million healthy years for women. Existing tobacco policies must be maintained if smoking prevalence is to continue to decline as forecast by the reference scenario. In addition, substantial smoking-attributable burden can be avoided by accelerating the pace of smoking elimination. Implementation of new tobacco control policies are crucial in avoiding additional smoking-attributable burden in the coming decades and to ensure that the gains won over the past three decades are not lost.
E-cigarettes: striking the right balance
Continued surveillance of e-cigarette and smoking in all age groups is warranted. Health authorities need to recognise the continuum of risk associated with all nicotine products, so that regulations are proportionate to the harm the products cause—ie, more stringent for the highest risk products (cigarettes) than those that are less harmful (nicotine medications, oral tobacco, e-cigarettes).9
Vaping among adults in England who have never regularly smoked: a population-based study, 2016–24
Study published in The Lancet Public Health looks at vaping trends in adults who have never regularly smoked. Some people have genes and circumstances leading them to like nicotine products. Traditionally, they ended up smoking, but some are now discovering vaping without becoming smokers first. If vaping did not exist, they would be smoking. The study authors point this out. To understand the likely consequences of an increase in regular vaping among never-regular-smokers, it is important to consider the counterfactual: what would these people have done in the absence of vaping?
Why banning vape flavours hurts smoking cessation efforts
Understanding the critical role of flavours in vaping as a harm reduction tool and why Brussels should reconsider its proposed ban Flavours are the nudge we need to keep encouraging vaping as an effective alternative to mankind’s deadliest consumption epidemic, smoking. Politicians must preserve the place of vaping flavours in the market. If they want to introduce new regulation, they should target specific products which do harm, not introduce a blanket ban on flavours.
Support for banning sale of smoked tobacco products among adults who smoke: findings from the International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping Surveys (2018–2022)
Opposition to banning smoked tobacco predominates among people who smoke, but less with a cessation assistance scenario than one encouraging nicotine substitution. Wanting to quit a lot was the strongest indicator of support.
Trends in Harm Perceptions of E-Cigarettes vs Cigarettes Among Adults Who Smoke in England, 2014-2023
These findings provide evidence of substantial misperceptions about the harms of vaping compared with smoking and underscore the need to clearly communicate the risks so that adults who smoke can make informed choices about the nicotine products they use. The risks of vaping are much lower than the risks of smoking and this isn’t being clearly communicated to people. “This misperception is a health risk in and of itself, as it may discourage smokers from substantially reducing their harm by switching to e-cigarettes. It may also encourage some young people who use e-cigarettes to take up smoking for the first time, if they believe the harms are comparable.
