The Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT)’s annual meeting went ahead March 11­–14, 2020, despite ominous COVID-19 clouds looming on the horizon. Over half of registered participants pulled out, including all speakers and participants from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But […]

The Foundation’s Tobacco Transformation Index (the “Index”) will provide quantifiable evidence over time of the steps the largest tobacco companies are taking to achieve a world free of combustible cigarettes and other high-risk tobacco products and actions they take to impede that progress. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products (STOP) supports the Global Tobacco […]

Surveying the room in Solapur, I’m struck first by the elegance of the women’s saris, and second, by the iPad. Equipped with advanced facial recognition software, the machine’s sophistication stands in stark contrast to the rest of the scene, which otherwise comprises piles of tendu leaves, processed tobacco, thread, and perilously sharp sheers. Over the […]

Globally, healthcare products are often developed without taking into consideration sex- and gender-based physiological and psychological differences. Male domination in science, medicine, and technology has led to the overrepresentation of men in clinical trials, a lack of gender-specific medical guidelines, and limited innovation in health-related technologies tailored to women’s needs. The impact of these oversights […]

I attended the 25th Anniversary of Liberation Day in Kigali on July 4, 2019, commemorating the end of the genocide. The contrast between “then” and today was extraordinary.     Parade commemorating the 25th Anniversary of Liberation Day in Kigali on July 4, 2019.   Rwanda has made progress since 1994 toward attaining many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). […]