GFN.TV Interviews #91 | EUROPE SETBACK | Safer Nicotine Faces a New Wave of Prohibition

GFN.TV Interviews #91 | EUROPE SETBACK | Safer Nicotine Faces a New Wave of Prohibition

Europe is escalating its war on safer nicotine by pursuing new restrictions on vaping, nicotine pouches, flavors, and affordability despite overwhelming evidence that these products can displace smoking. Shot on location at GFN 2026 in Warsaw, Poland, Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos describes the policy shift as a “tremendous setback.” He examines why Europe is abandoning common sense, refusing to learn from failed prohibitionist policies, and pushing a market serving millions of former smokers toward illicit trade. Featuring: KONSTANTINOS FARSALINOS, M.D. Cardiologist, Public Health Expert University of Patras, Greece University of West Attica, Greece ecigarette-research.org

The future of tobacco control in Iberoamérica #GFN26

This session explored the future of tobacco control in Iberoamérica, highlighting the consequences of prohibitionist and ideologically driven approaches. It will examine how such policies may overlook key public health and human rights principles by limiting access to lower-risk alternatives and failing to reflect the realities of people who use nicotine. The discussion will also consider the role of tobacco harm reduction (THR) as a more pragmatic, evidence-based approach to improving health outcomes.

Drugs and Tobacco Harm Reduction: shared challenges, shared solutions | #GFN26

Harm reduction approaches are now an established and fundamental part of the response to drug use. While tobacco harm reduction has an expanding evidence base it is often viewed in narrow terms, as if people who smoke exist in a discrete silo. This has meant the potential of THR to help communities with high smoking prevalence, such as people who use drugs, remains underexplored – despite the evident harms they experience and their impact on health outcomes. This session brings a drug harm reduction perspective to THR, drawing on frontline experience across a range of environments and sectors, seeking to highlight what works in terms of harm reduction for individuals and communities, plus opportunities for further development.

How should we think about nicotine addiction? | THR Unfiltered

Can we rethink nicotine addiction? Is the word "addiction" helping—or hurting—the conversation? In this episode of THR Unfiltered, recorded during the Global Forum on Nicotine 2026 #GFN26 we speak with behavioral scientist Dr. Arielle Selya about the science behind nicotine dependence, addiction, and tobacco harm reduction. The discussion explores why researchers often prefer the term "dependence" over "addiction," how these concepts differ in scientific and clinical contexts, and why language matters when discussing people who use nicotine.

The real costs of prohibition #GFN26

The panel will discuss the various forms of prohibition, examine the main objections to prohibition, and ask under what circumstances, if any, prohibitions are justified. We consider the likely consequences of prohibition, especially in the counterintuitive case where prohibition applies to products safer than the market norm. What are the merits of two common strategies for addressing the costs and consequences: a stronger enforcement approach or removing the underlying economic incentives? We will conclude with an engaging finale, in which the panel and audience are asked to provide unwanted advice to the Australian government, Michael Bloomberg and the WHO.