The first Tobacco Transformation Index™ found that a small group of tobacco companies made public commitments to harm reduction, but none have shifted their focus enough to ensure the accelerated decline of cigarettes and other high-risk products. A review of recently published first-half 2021 reports from six of the major tobacco companies indicates that reduced-risk […]

Improper government policies related to tobacco can lead to increased consumption among the poor, erosion of tax revenues, and, worryingly, a surge in criminal activity that can be difficult to control. Recent articles have exposed inherent conflicts regarding smoking in South Africa. We view the signals there as being explosive, seriously underplayed in the media, […]

Before 2020, I knew very little about tobacco control. My knowledge did not go beyond what most people know – that cigarettes are bad for your health and could kill you. Subsequently, tobacco harm reduction was a foreign concept to me, although it made logical sense. I volunteered in Lesotho with the Peace Corps; the […]

In Part I, I discussed failures in the implementation of the Global Strategy to Accelerate Tobacco Control 2019-2025 (GS2025). As that post indicates, there are many factors contributing to shortcomings on this front. In the current piece, I focus on one where a country, Thailand, which, in my opinion, is still facing challenges in reducing […]

For decades, the US was a leader in global health. It played a key role in establishing the World Health Organization (WHO), steered the eradication of diseases like smallpox, and guided the development of innumerable standards that underpin modern health policy. Then came the Trump Presidency. Over the past four years, and particularly throughout the […]