Colin Mendelsohn worked as a medical practitioner, academic and researcher in smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction for 40 years. He is the Founding Chairman of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association and was a Conjoint Associate Professor in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales. He was a member of the expert advisory group that develops the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ national smoking cessation guidelines. He is actively involved in teaching, writing, and advocating for tobacco harm reduction.

Pieter Vorster is the Managing Director of Idwala Research, which provides research and advisory services aimed at accelerating tobacco transformation and harm reduction. Before founding Idwala, Pieter spent 30 years as an investment analyst with global investment banks and fund managers, including Credit Suisse and UBS. During this time, he covered the tobacco sector for over 20 years, laying the foundation for his extensive expertise in tobacco transformation and harm reduction. Pieter served on the Technical Committee of the 2022 Tobacco Transformation Index. Following this, he published a series of in-depth reports and analysis tools to help investors and companies interrogate and digest the Index's underlying data.

Martin Steinbauer is the co-founder and Chief Engineer of SMOOD, where he focuses on youth access restriction technologies and sustainability solutions for ENDS. SMOOD has grown into a global business built on sustainability, advanced chemistry, IoT-enabled devices, and consumer centricity. Prior to SMOOD, Martin was an investment analyst at BlackRock in New York City. Martin graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Applied Mathematics.

David Burns is director of Bay Pharma, an Australian manufacturer of prescription NVP products provided through the medical access framework. Bay Pharma initiated one of Australia’s first NVP recycling programs in conjunction with one of Australia’s pre-eminent drug and other alcohol treatment centres. David graduated from ATU in medical science and has 12 years’ experience in the medical device and in-vitro diagnostic industry.

Peter Paul Dator is a lawyer who graduated with a BSE Social Studies degree from the University of the Philippines and completed his J.D program at the University of Santo Tomas. He has been serving as the President of Vapers PH for almost a decade, a non-profit consumer advocacy group aimed at promoting the responsible use of alternative nicotine delivery devices such as e-cigarettes. Dator is a strong advocate for harm reduction and vaping and has gained worldwide recognition for his work. His efforts to lobby for the passage of the Vape Bill in the Philippines have further cemented his status as one of the pillars of harm reduction in the country.

Alfredo Garbin, Jr. is the recently elected Mayor of Legazpi City in the Philippines. He is a lawyer by training, graduating from the University of Santo Tomas-Legazpi College of Law in 2001. Mayor Garbin also completed various management and leaders programmes at the Asian Institute of Management and the Harvard Kennedy School. He was a Congressman in the Philippine House of Representatives from 2010-2013 and from 2016 to 2022 where he served as Deputy Minority Leader, chaired the Committee on Constitutional Amendments, and worked as the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on Justice. It was during his term as a member of the House of Representatives that he authored a bill that sought to regulate vaporized nicotine products. He successfully defended the bill in the House plenary debates which led to its passage into law as the Philippine Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Act of 2022.

Prior to overseeing the Department of Energy’s Financial and Legal Services, and as the Department Legislative Liaison Officer – Undersecretary Sharon S. Garin, a CPA-Lawyer by profession, started her career with the public service from the 15th to 19th Congress as Representative of AAMVBIS-OWA Partylist and was the 1st female Deputy Speaker from the province of Iloilo. Usec. Sharon graduated in Accounting at the University of the Philippines-Iloilo; Law at the Ateneo de Manila School of Law; and International Masters in Business Administration at Escuela Superior de Administracion y Direccion de Empresas, in Spain.

As a member of the House of Representatives, she chaired the House Committee on Economic Affairs and served as the Vice-Chair for the Committee on Ways and Means, Transportation, Banks and Financial Intermediaries; and Globalization and WTO. She is an author of the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Act of 2022, defending it during Second Reading in the House of Representatives and also serving as a member of the Bicameral Conference Committee on the Vape Bill that reconciled the conflicting provisions from the House and the Senate.

Dr Lorenzo Mato is President of Quit For Good, a non-profit, non-stock organization promoting harm reduction as a compassionate strategy to mitigate the damage and loss tobacco cigarettes have brought to society. Dr Mata is a recognized Harm Reduction expert in the Philippines, serving as a resource speaker in local and international Harm Reduction forums and in the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives. Dr. Mata has significantly contributed to the crafting of a national bill that, if passed into law, will be known as the “Non-combustible Nicotine Delivery System Regulation Act of 2020”.

Dr Mata has been an Occupational Medical Specialist for three and a half decades, with many years working in both hospital and industrial setting. His commitment to harm reduction has always been integral in his practice. He is now a Concierge Medical Practitioner, providing personalized home care in his city with a population of 90,000 including nearly a thousand cases of COVID-19 seen and treated.

Dr. Rafael R. Castillo, a noted cardiologist, earned his Medicine degree from the University of Santo Tomas in 1977, graduating with cum laude and Meritissimus distinctions. From 1993-1994, he was President of the Philippine Heart Association and the Philippine College of Cardiology. He is a regular columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He is a Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine, College of Medicine, Adventist University of the Philippines, Senior Consultant in Adult Cardiology, Manila Doctors’ Hospital, Dean Emeritus, and Head of Cardio-Metabolic Research Unit (CaMeRU), FAME Leaders Academy, Fellow of the Philippine College of Physicians, Philippine College of Cardiology, European Society of Cardiology, and Elected Trustee/Council Member of the International Society of Hypertension (ISH).

Jeffrey Zamora is President of Asovape Costa Rica, Social Media Director and Audiovisual Producer for INNCO, recipient of the Enhanced KAC THRSP Scholarship with a project on a documentary series called #Safer and a documentary called "Love Kevin", and Project Leader for the Veritas Study of ECLAT (Spin-off of the University of Catania, Italy) and CoEHAR, and former president of ARDT Iberoamerica. Jeffrey Zamora has worked in Social Media, Audiovisual Production, and Marketing with NGOs, Governmental Entities, and Commercial Brands.

Law degree from the Universidad Intercontinental. Master in Law from UNAM. Doctoral candidate at UNAM. Professor of Philosophy of Law at the UNAM. Professor of Legal Argumentation for the Universidad La Salle and the Postgraduate Studies Division of UNAM. Postulant Lawyer, president of the Association Mexico and the World Vaping A.C. He has currently promoted amparos against bans on the use of vaporisers in Mexico, obtaining amparo for himself and his clients and associates for their commercialisation and for declaring unconstitutional the presidential decree that aims to ban their importation. He has also been legal advisor for public events such as expos, forums and promotional activities in the commercialisation of vaporisers. Invited speaker at forums in the Federal Chamber of Deputies and local legislatures in defence of fundamental rights for the consumption of nicotine supply alternatives. He has also advised local deputies on such issues to justify law initiatives that seek to regulate nicotine consumption alternatives. Legal advisor to different companies in the vape market, he has insisted on strategies and policies in Mexico and Latin America to seek the correct regulation of these products. One of the leading voices in the press to address human rights and the right to consume reduced-risk alternatives. He has personally enjoyed the benefits of using alternatives to conventional tobacco since 2013.

Licenciado en Derecho por la Universidad Intercontinental. Maestro en derecho por la UNAM. Doctorante por la UNAM. Profesor por oposición de Filosofía del Derecho en la Licenciatura en la UNAM. Profesor de Argumentación Jurídica para la Universidad La Salle y la división de estudios de Posgrado de la UNAM. Abogado Postulante, presidente de la Asociación México y el Mundo Vapeando A.C. En la actualidad ha promovido amparos en contra de las prohibiciones en México del uso de vaporizadores, obteniendo amparo para sí y para sus clientes y asociados para su comercialización y para declarar inconstitucional el decreto presidencial que pretende prohibir la importación. Asimismo ha sido asesor jurídicos de eventos públicos como expos, foros y actividades de promoción, en la comercialización de vaporizadores. Orador invitado en foros en la Cámara de Diputados Federal y legislaturas Locales en defensa de los derechos fundamentales para el consumo de alternativas de suministro de nicotina. Asimismo ha asesorado en dichos temas a diputados locales para justificar las iniciativas de ley que buscan regular las alternativas de consumo de nicotina. Asesor jurídico de diferentes empresas del mercado del vapeo, ha insidido en estrategias y políticas en México y Latinoamérica para buscar la correcta regulación de dichos productos. Una de las voces principales en la prensa para abordar los derechos humanos y el derecho al consumo de alternativas de riesgo reducido. Ha disfrutado personalmente de las ventajas de consumir alternativas al tabaco convencional desde 2013.

Ignacio Leiva is a journalist specialized in informatics and multimedia platforms. In 2010, he led the communication campaign to prevent the vaping ban in Chile. Since then, he has focused on strengthening the community of electronic cigarette users, making them more informed and aware. He is the founder and current president of the Association of Vaporizer Consumers of Chile (ASOVAPE) and serves as the secretary of ARDT Iberoamerica. He organized the first pro-vaping public demonstration in Latin America and promotes communication campaigns for tobacco harm reduction in Chile and worldwide. Ignacio has been an active and relevant actor in the legislative process concerning electronic cigarettes in Chile, significantly contributing to policy discussions, which ultimately led to the enactment of Chile's vaping law, in force since 2025. He is also the manager of the broadcasts for World Vaping Day (WVD) and Vapefest Online. Currently, he is the general content editor and activities coordinator for the campaign "Vaping is not Smoking," a multimedia communication effort carried out in Chile and aimed at Latin America.

Degree in Social Sciences from the Universidad Pedagógica de Colombia with a Master's degree in Political Studies from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Social Sciences teacher for more than 20 years and a consummate activist for Harm Reduction of smoking. UX/UI designer and lover of music, cinema, and technology. He was a founding member of ASOVAPE Colombia, the first Latin American association of consumers of low-risk nicotine delivery products. He has been the promoter of the creation of other associations in Latin America, such as Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Panama, and Costa Rica. He is a founding member of ARDT Iberoamerica and president of this organisation. In 2021, he won the Best Advocate of the Year award from the INNCO organisation.

Licenciado en Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad Pedagógica de Colombia con Maestría en Estudios Políticos de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Docente de Ciencias sociales por más de 20 años y consumado activista de la Reducción de Daños del tabaquismo. Diseñador UX/UI y amante de la música, el cine y la tecnología. Fue miembro fundador de ASOVAPE Colombia, la primera asociación Latinoamérica de consumidores de productos de administración de nicotina de bajo riesgo. Ha sido el promotor de la creación de otras asociaciones en América Latina como es el caso de Venezuela, Ecuador, Perú, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Brasil, Panamá y Costa Rica. Es miembro fundador de ARDT Iberoamérica y presidente de esta organización. En el año 2021 ganó el premio Mejor defensor del año otorgado por la organización INNCO.

Julio Ruades is the spokesperson for ANESVAP (Spanish Association of Personal Vaporizer Users), a non-profit user organisation created to defend the right of all adults to use personal vaporizers to quit smoking. In addition to being a spokesperson for Anesvap, Julio has been a pro-vape activist for more than 12 years, well known on social networks for his YouTube channel "El Mono Vapeador" which has more than half a million subscribers. He is dedicated to promoting vaping and the science behind harm reduction methods among Spanish-speaking users around the world through interviews with Doctors, covering annual events such as the Global Forum on Nicotine, and helping vaping user organisations in Spain and throughout Latin America. He has received several awards over the years in different countries such as Mexico, Colombia, and Spain, including the INNCO Roll of Honour for activist of the year (Warsaw 2019) and the Vlogger award in 2016.

Julio Ruades es portavoz de ANESVAP (Asociación Española de usuarios de Vaporizadores Personales), una organización de usuarios sin ánimo de lucro creada para defender el derecho que tiene toda persona mayor de edad a utilizar vaporizadores personales para abandonar el tabaco. Además de Portavoz de Anesvap, Julio ha sido activista provapeo desde hace más de 12 años, muy conocido en redes sociales por su canal de YouTube “el mono vapeador” que cuenta con más de medio millón de suscriptores. Se dedica a promover el vapeo y la ciencia tras los métodos de reducción de daños entre usuarios hispanohablantes de todo el mundo, mediante entrevistas a Doctores, cubriendo eventos anuales como el Global Forum on Nicotine y ayudando en las organizaciones de usuarios del vapeo tanto en España como en toda Latinoamérica. Ha recibido varios premios a lo largo de estos años en diferentes países como México, Colombia o España, entre los que destacan el INNCO Roll of Honour al activista del año (Varsovia 2019), o el premio Vlogger en 2016.

Ian is an independent consultant with expertise in regulatory and scientific aspects of nicotine and tobacco products. His consulting work encompasses clinical and behavioural studies of tobacco and nicotine products for regulatory submissions in the US and Europe, and he has a wealth of experience of both consumer goods and medicinal licensing submissions. His 17 years working in the Tobacco Harm Reduction arena has included roles as Senior Director of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs EMEA with JUUL Labs, Director of Tobacco Research with Celerion, and Principal Scientist and Head of Clinical Research at British American Tobacco. As well as his consulting, Ian is a Scientific Advisory Board Member with Qnovia, a medtech startup seeking authorisation for a novel NRT in the UK and the US, and is also an Independent Non-Exec Director with Advanced Inhalation Rituals (AIR), a global shisha manufacturer.

Scott J. Leischow, Ph.D. joined the Mayo Clinic in 2012, where he leads the Research on Health Equity and Community Health (REACH) Program at Mayo Clinic Arizona, and co-leads Cancer Prevention and Control within the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. He was formerly University of Arizona and also served as Senior Advisor for Tobacco Policy in the US Department of Health and Human Services and Chief of the Tobacco Control Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute of NIH. Dr. Leischow completed his doctorate in Health Education from the University of Maryland, and a postdoctoral fellowship in Behavioral Pharmacology from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Leischow has received several awards, including the NIH Director’s Award. Most of Dr. Leischow’s research and publications focus on pharmacologic and behavioral treatments for tobacco dependence, along with systems and network approaches to public health. Dr. Leischow is past President of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT).

Martin Cullip is a former company director and International Fellow of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, who has written and blogged on free market and lifestyle consumer issues for over a decade. As a user of e-cigarettes and other safer nicotine products, he is a particularly passionate consumer advocate for all forms of tobacco harm reduction and has a keen interest in the rapidly-evolving nicotine market and the politics surrounding it. Martin is a former Chair of UK educational charity The New Nicotine Alliance and has taken part in parliamentary evidence sessions and consumer, industry, and political events on the subject domestically and internationally.

Jasjit S. Ahluwalia is a physician and public health scientist at Brown University’s Schools of Public Health and Medicine. He has been in academic medicine since 1992. His primary research areas are smoking cessation and nicotine addiction in African American smokers for which he has secured more than $120 million as a PI, Co-PI and Co-Investigator. He has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for 28 years and has published more than 375 manuscripts. Ahluwalia has served on the U.S. government’s National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities, on the SRNT board of directors and recently completed a 3-year term on the federal government’s Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health chaired by the U.S. Surgeon General.

Brian Quigley has over twenty-five years of Marketing, Regulatory, Operations and Business Leadership experience for public companies, private equity backed businesses and venture backed businesses.

Brian is currently Chief Executive Officer for Qnovia, Inc. a U.S. based venture backed pharmaceutical company, focused on inhaled drug delivery across a host of indication areas. Qnovia's is currently engaged with the FDA CEDR to pursue a combination product application for its lead asset (QN-01) to be the first inhalable prescription smoking cessation therapy. Brian joined Qnovia in July 2020 as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to Qnovia, Brian spent 16 years at Altria Group, with his last 7 years as President & CEO for Altria’s Smokeless and Innovative Products/Vapor Businesses.

Brian has also been an active venture investor, and is on the Board of Mustgrow Biologics, Belle Isle Craft Spirits and the Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges.

Brian lives in Richmond,VA with his wife Amy and three sons.

Mark Dickinson owns Clarityse Ltd, an independent strategic marketing consultancy with extensive experience across the OTC Medicines and Vaping sectors. Mark spent 17 years at GSK in various Global, EMEA and UK senior marketing roles, including 8 years directing their smoking control brands - through the period in which NRT products were made reimbursable in the UK and the prescription segment developed. He has worked extensively at the interface of marketing, regulatory affairs and public policy. He owned a vape shop and more recently has been helping companies with the commercial aspects of bringing a medicinal vape product to market.

Colin Mendelsohn worked as a medical practitioner, academic and researcher in smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction for 40 years. He is the Founding Chairman of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association and was a Conjoint Associate Professor in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales. He was a member of the expert advisory group that develops the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ national smoking cessation guidelines. He is actively involved in teaching, writing, and advocating for tobacco harm reduction.

Dr Beaumont is an Australian general practitioner. She founded the Australian ‘SmokerHealth’ national telehealth clinic (formerly MedicalNicotine) for vape prescriptions - a policy unique to Australia. Lung cancer and cardiac disease testing is also provided, for early diagnosis of the main diseases that kill smokers. Carolyn combines this with locum GP work in remote Australian communities, and understands firsthand the complex healthcare barriers that
smokers from these regions face. In Australia’s generally negative stance towards vaping, Carolyn plays an important role in THR. She is well known for her media engagement, presentations, publications and conference involvement. She is writing her first book titled ‘Unfiltered’, a collection of interviews with doctors from fields such as cardiology, vascular surgery, anaesthesia, neurosurgery and oncology. ‘Unfiltered’ aims to provide a compelling narrative across medical specialties, which focuses squarely on the harms caused by smoking and not by nicotine itself.

Will is the founding editor-in-chief of Filter, an online magazine that launched in 2018 to cover drug use, drug policy and human rights through a harm reduction lens. He's also the executive director of The Influence Foundation, the New York nonprofit behind Filter. His past work in the drugs and human rights spaces has included founding and/or editing a number of other publications, and consulting for various organizations. Originally from England, he now lives in Vermont.

Agnieszka Wyszyńka-Szulc is the Global Head of Regulatory Policy in the External Affairs team at Philip Morris International (PMI), an international tobacco company working to deliver a smoke-free future and evolving its portfolio for the long term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. Agnieszka joined the Corporate Affairs Team in the Polish affiliate of PMI in 2004, and since then she has held various roles in the organisation, including as Director of Regulatory Strategy in the EU Region External Affairs Team. Agnieszka holds a Masters degree in Management and Administration and a postgraduate degree in Public Affairs, both from Warsaw University, Poland, as well as an Executive MBA from the Warsaw University of Technology Business School, Poland.

Barnaby Page is editorial director of Tamarind Intelligence, the publisher of ECigIntelligence, TobaccoIntelligence and CannIntelligence. As a journalist he has been covering the worldwide reduced-risk nicotine sector since 2014, with a particular focus on public health and regulatory issues; in his current role he manages Tamarind’s editorial and reporting teams, producing a wide range of nicotine-related content. He has been participating in the Global Forum on Nicotine since its inception. Before coming into this field, Barnaby spent 30 years as a reporter and editor for newspapers, magazines and online services, specialising in technology and business. He is based near London.

Joseph Magero is a dynamic public policy expert and dedicated harm reduction fellow committed to pioneering progressive solutions in the field of public health. With a keen focus on evidence-based strategies, Joseph has emerged as a trailblazer in advocating for pragmatic policies that mitigate the adverse effects of various societal challenges. Driven by a passion for public health and a desire to effect meaningful change, Joseph has been instrumental in raising awareness and championing evidence-based strategies for tobacco harm reduction. His advocacy efforts have extended beyond borders, engaging with policymakers, health organizations, and local communities to promote pragmatic solutions aimed at reducing the prevalence of smoking and its associated health risks. In 2019, the International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organizations (INNCO) awarded him advocate of the Year.

Tomás O'Gorman is a Mexican lawyer and teaches Corporation Law and Successions Law at Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City. An ex-smoker and vaper since 2016, he is co-founder of "Pro-Vapeo Mexico", a Mexican consumer association (registered in 2017), that advocates for tobacco harm reduction and non- combustible alternatives. He is a member of INNCO’s Board.

Heneage Mitchell, commonly known as ‘H’, has been resident in Asia for over 40 years. He spent most of those decades working in regional media, including as managing editor and co-publisher of Tobacco Asia, a trade publication reporting on the regional tobacco industry. In 2012, he established factasia, an independent, consumer-oriented regional advocacy for rational debate about – and sensible regulation of – the rights of adult citizens throughout the Asia-Pacific region to choose to use tobacco or other nicotine-related products. Heneage smoked for over 45 years before switching to vaping in 2016, since when he has never touched a cigarette.

Nancy’s THR advocacy began in 2015 as one of the founders/co directors of Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA) in New Zealand, doing battle for the rights of vapers to be able to access what they need to become/remain smoke free. Nancy is also the Executive Coordinator for the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA). CAPHRA supports consumer THR advocacy organisations and activities throughout the Asia Pacific region and beyond, and has developed various programmes for consumers including the Voices4Vape online seminar series, sCOPe consumer livestream, the Advocates Voice online newscast and the Advocates Voice Live sessions. CAPHRA, under Nancy’s leadership, also established the collaborative “Right2Vape” testimonial database with CASAA in the USA, and the “Right to Switch” change.org petition, both featuring thousands of consumer testimonials from across the world.

Clive Bates has had a diverse career in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Starting out with IBM, he then switched career to work in the environment movement. From 1997-2003 he was Director of Action on Smoking and Health (UK), campaigning to reduce the harms caused by tobacco. In 2003 he joined Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Strategy Unit as a civil servant and worked in senior roles in the public sector and for the United Nations in Sudan. He is now Director of The Counterfactual, a consulting and advocacy practice focussed on a pragmatic approach to sustainability and public health.

Professor Marewa Glover is one of New Zealand’s leading tobacco control researchers. She has worked on reducing smoking-related harm for 32 years. She is recognized internationally for her advocacy on THR and was a Finalist in the New Zealander of the Year Supreme Award in 2019 recognising her contribution to reducing smoking in NZ. In 2018, Marewa was appointed Tobacco Section Editor for the Harm Reduction Journal. In 2018 she also established the Centre of Research Excellence: Indigenous Sovereignty & Smoking, an international program of research aimed at reducing smoking-related harms among Indigenous peoples globally. The Centre’s research was funded through to 1 September 2024 with grants from Global Action to End Smoking (formerly known as Foundation for Smoke-Free World), an independent U.S. nonprofit 501(c)(3) grantmaking organization, accelerating efforts worldwide to end the smoking epidemic. Neither Marewa nor the Centre have any commercial interests in any nicotine or tobacco products.

Tomás O'Gorman is a Mexican lawyer and teaches Corporation Law and Successions Law at Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City. An ex-smoker and vaper since 2016, he is co-founder of "Pro-Vapeo Mexico", a Mexican consumer association (registered in 2017), that advocates for tobacco harm reduction and non- combustible alternatives. He is a member of INNCO’s Board.

Judy Gibson is currently INNCOs Membership Director having led a Steering Group to establish the organisation in 2016 and acted as its first Secretary General following its registration in Geneva in 2016.

Her diverse career includes: WRAF Aircraft Mechanic, MOD Detective and over 30yrs in Artiste management and Theatrical PR & Marketing. Suffering early iterations of e-cigarettes since 2012, she became an ex-smoker in 2014 with the advent of sub-ohm tanks and became a vociferous supporter of safer nicotine products.

Kasia runs the Global Public Health Foundation, which aims to share research and experience in public health across all relevant sectors. She is also a lecturer at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Kasia's area of experience includes harm reduction, public health and event management.

Arkadi Sharkov is a macroeconomist with extensive experience in health systems analysis and management. His narrow interest is in health budgeting, tax policies, and incentives for more affordable health care, as well as optimization of public budgets. He has extensive experience in cost-benefit analyses related to the penetration of medicinal products and the valuation of clinical pathways in hospitals. He holds a Master's degree in Public Policy from Maastricht University and the United Nations University. Currently, he is an assistant professor and a PhD candidate at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and the Higher School of Insurance and Finance, where he teaches social and health insurance. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Bulgarian Medical Union. He has been an economic advisor to the Minister of Health in three governments.

Honoured Physician of the Kyrgyz Republic, Doctor of Medicine, Professor, Rector of the Bishkek International Medical Institute.

Amb. Zurab Tchiaberashvili holds a professor position at Ilia State University. He was the Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs (2012), a deputy Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee of Healthcare and Social Affairs (2016-2020), Governor of the Kakheti region (2013), and Mayor of Tbilisi (2004-2005). Amb. Tchiaberashvili served as Permanent Representative of Georgia to the Council of Europe (2005-2010) and to the UN office and other organizations in Geneva (2011- 2012). He has the rank of Ambassador of Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia (since 2007). Amb. Tchiaberashvili has MBA (2009) from a Joint program with Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA, and WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Vallendar, Germany, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy (1999) from Tbilisi State University, Georgia.

Gintautas-Yuozas Kentra graduated from Almaty State Medical Institute as a general practitioner. He has since completed advanced training in cardiology, public health, healthcare management, and healthy lifestyle development. Beginning his career as an emergency medical specialist, Dr. Kentra then served in the therapeutic department of Almaty City Hospital as a physician and deputy chief physician. From 1996 to 2000, he worked at the Kazakhstan Embassy in the UK as a medical doctor. He later headed the medical service of the Criminal Executive System of the Ministry of Justice in Almaty. Since 2020, Dr. Kentra has been with the Harm Reduction Association – Densaulyk, focusing on public health projects related to lifestyle risks. He has led community studies on health behaviors and co-introduced methadone replacement therapy in Kazakhstan. Dr. Kentra has also contributed to documenting violence-related injuries and implementing the opioid agonist maintenance therapy (OTMA) program in medical organizations across Kazakhstan.

Amir Rashidov is a drug addiction clinician in the Republican Specialized Scientific and Practical Drug Treatment Medical Center in Uzbekistan.

Saida is a professor of Oncology and radiation diagnostics department at Tajik State Medical Institute named after Abuali ibn Sino. She is also affiliated with Republican Cancer Research Center of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan. Between 2016 and 2020 she was the first Deputy Minister of Health and Social protection.

Sudhanshu Patwardhan is a British-Indian U.K.-licensed medical doctor, passionate about innovation in cancer prevention and early screening. Between 2000 and 2019, he lived and worked in three continents, holding senior roles in research, strategy and policy in the pharmaceutical and nicotine industries. For the past six years, Sud has set up and grown ventures in strategic advisory and healthtech, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries.

Flora Okereke is Head of Global Regulatory Insights and Foresights at BAT, responsible for the analysis and forecasting of international regulatory developments on behalf of BAT’s 180-plus global markets. Flora also coordinates BAT’s policy responses to the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and other global institutions. She has previously held several senior country, regional and global roles at BAT, including legal, corporate and regulatory affairs director for West Africa; head of regulatory affairs for Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe; global head of regulatory strategy and engagement; and senior director of government affairs and international policy at Reynolds American Incorporated Services, a subsidiary of RJR Tobacco based in Washington, D.C. Flora was called to the Bar of England and Wales (Middle Temple) and later admitted as a solicitor by the Law Society. Flora is a renowned speaker at the global policy conferences.

Atul is an expert in Strategy and Operations primarily working in life sciences, consumer and industrial products sectors. He focuses on strategy design and implementation, digital transformation and performance improvement. At GHC Consulting, Atul leads the Supply Chain Transformation practice vertical.

Atul has prior experience working for The Boston Consulting Group, EY Parthenon and Kroll. He is also an author of a highly popular book "The Illustrated Supply Chain", a fun, laidback take on explaining core supply chain concepts. He holds a master's degree in operations management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India.

Joseph Magero is a dynamic public policy expert and dedicated harm reduction fellow committed to pioneering progressive solutions in the field of public health. With a keen focus on evidence-based strategies, Joseph has emerged as a trailblazer in advocating for pragmatic policies that mitigate the adverse effects of various societal challenges. Driven by a passion for public health and a desire to effect meaningful change, Joseph has been instrumental in raising awareness and championing evidence-based strategies for tobacco harm reduction. His advocacy efforts have extended beyond borders, engaging with policymakers, health organizations, and local communities to promote pragmatic solutions aimed at reducing the prevalence of smoking and its associated health risks. In 2019, the International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organizations (INNCO) awarded him advocate of the Year.

Charles Hamshaw-Thomas worked with the two founding shareholders of E-Lites, the pioneering brand at the forefront of the UK vaping industry’s explosive early growth (2011-2015). Charlie led E-Lites’ external engagement – in London, Brussels and Washington DC – at the time when governments & regulators were first turning their attention to the nascent ‘new nicotine’ category. He also led E-Lites’ business development initiatives, which culminated in the sale of E-Lites to Japan Tobacco International in 2014. Since 2015, he has undertaken some consultancy roles to, and remained a close and enthusiastic observer of, the new industry. Charlie’s fervent wish is to see the industry truly realise its disruptive potential.

Jessica Harding became involved in tobacco harm reduction when vapes helped her to quit smoking, in 2012. She helped to establish the political party Vapers in Power and later worked as an administrator for the New Nicotine Alliance. Jessica is a Director of GFN Ltd, which produces the Global Forum on Nicotine. She previously worked as an English teacher and lives in the UK.

Grzegorz Król, Ph.D. is a Director at Knowledge•Action•Change, the sister company to KAC Communications which runs GFN. Social psychologist & IT specialist, author of publications on psychology, data analysis and harm reduction. Since 2003 Grzegorz has managed international projects in the area of public health, drugs and tobacco harm reduction. Between 2012 and 2018, he was lecturer at the Faculty of Management and MBA School, University of Warsaw. Since 2016, Grzegorz has been a member of the European Network for Research Evaluation in the Social Sciences and the Humanities (ENRESSH), part of the COST Action: European Cooperation in Science and Technology. Grzegorz is also Co-founder of a harm reduction knowledge hub at harmreduction.eu.

Dr Roberto A Sussman (PhD University of London) is a full time senior researcher and lecturer at the Institute for Nuclear Sciences of the National University of Mexico. His main research areas are General Relativity and Cosmology, but he has conducted research in other areas of Physics, including peer reviewed publications on e-cigarette aerosols. He advocates for an appropriate regulation of Tobacco Harm Reduction products in Mexico and Latin America and is active in spreading scientific information on these products, as well as advising consumers on how to counter the rampant governmental disinformation and prejudice about them.

Grzegorz Król, Ph.D. is a Director at Knowledge•Action•Change, the sister company to KAC Communications which runs GFN. Social psychologist & IT specialist, author of publications on psychology, data analysis and harm reduction. Since 2003 Grzegorz has managed international projects in the area of public health, drugs and tobacco harm reduction. Between 2012 and 2018, he was lecturer at the Faculty of Management and MBA School, University of Warsaw. Since 2016, Grzegorz has been a member of the European Network for Research Evaluation in the Social Sciences and the Humanities (ENRESSH), part of the COST Action: European Cooperation in Science and Technology. Grzegorz is also Co-founder of a harm reduction knowledge hub at harmreduction.eu.

Anne Molloy is the wife and life long partner of the late Kevin Molloy, who worked with Knowledge Action Change as Head of the Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship Programme, until he sadly passed away in 2021. Anne met Kevin in London through their work as actors. They eventually moved to Canterbury, where they raised their two children, Lottie & Jake. As well as Anne’s career in acting, she has worked as a lecturer in Performing Arts, is an advanced practitioner and mentor in the field of teaching and learning and is currently training to be a Humanist wedding celebrant.

Professor Gerry Stimson is a leading advocate for tobacco harm reduction. A public health social scientist, with over 50 years’ experience of research and advocacy, he was one of the founders of harm reduction in the 1990s, helping to develop and evaluate harm reduction in the UK as a response to HIV/AIDS. Gerry has advised the UK Government, WHO, UNAIDS, UNODC, the World Bank and numerous governments around the world on issues relating to drugs, HIV infection and AIDS, and alcohol. He has also published over 220 scientific publications and several books. He is a co-founder of the Global Forum on Nicotine.  Gerry is advisor to the  Knowledge•Action•Change projects on tobacco harm reduction including the Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship Programme and the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction project. He is Emeritus Professor at Imperial College London.

Sarah Cooney is a science engagement specialist, advises on harm reduction, science communication, and regulatory affairs. For over a decade at British American Tobacco, she spearheaded the company’s science engagement, helping pave the way for less-risky nicotine products. Sarah reshaped BAT’s publishing strategy, crafting award-winning reports to demystify reduced risk research. Her knack for making science accessible extends from boardrooms to public forums, bridging the gap between scientists, regulators, and the media. With editorial roles at Nature, Elsevier, and BioMedCentral, Sarah brings a wealth of publishing expertise. As a published scientist (with a BSc and an MSc from the University of Toronto) she understands the need for commitment to scientific accessibility and innovation.

Harry Shapiro is Director of DrugWise – an online drug information service - and Managing Editor of DS Daily - the daily online drug, alcohol and tobacco news service. He has worked in the drugs field for over 40 years, first with the Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence and then from 2000 with DrugScope where he was Director of Communications until the charity folded in 2015. Since 2015, he has been working with Knowledge-Action-Change promoting public health through harm reduction. He is the author and Executive Editor of the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction report, contributes a blog to Nicotine Science and Policy and is one of KAC’s media spokespeople.

Marina Murphy PhD is a scientific communications and engagement professional with more than 25 years of experience including 15 years in the tobacco and nicotine sector. With a background in chemistry, she also has broad outreach, engagement and advocacy experience. Marina has previously worked as Senior Director of Scientific and Medical Affairs at ANDS, Head of Public Health Advocacy at JUUL Labs and spent nearly ten years working for British American Tobacco , during which she held various roles, including Head of Scientific Media Relations and International Scientific Engagement Manager. Marina has also worked as a journalist, editor and columnist and has published in several high-profile publications including New Scientist, The Irish Times, BBC Science and sciencebusiness.net.

Bernd Mayer was appointed at the University of Graz as a full Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology in 1999. His main research area is cardiovascular pharmacology, focusing on vascular endothelial cells and oxidative stress. In 2006 he was presented with an e-cigarette made by RuyanTM in China. Since then, he has advocated e-cigarettes as much less harmful alternatives to conventional cigarettes for smokers. In 2013 he studied documented historical cases of nicotine poisoning. As a result, he raised the then generally accepted lethal oral dose from 60 mg to 500-1,000 mg, indicating that regular use of nicotine products won't lead to considerable poisoning.

Jasjit S. Ahluwalia is a physician and public health scientist at Brown University’s Schools of Public Health and Medicine. He has been in academic medicine since 1992. His primary research areas are smoking cessation and nicotine addiction in African American smokers for which he has secured more than $120 million as a PI, Co-PI and Co-Investigator. He has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for 28 years and has published more than 375 manuscripts. Ahluwalia has served on the U.S. government’s National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities, on the SRNT board of directors and recently completed a 3-year term on the federal government’s Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health chaired by the U.S. Surgeon General.

Amaliya, DDS. MSc. PhD. is a lecturer and researcher from Dental Faculty, Department of

Periodontology, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia. From 2017 until now, she is

involved in an NGO called KABAR (Tar-Free Indonesian Coalition) and become their leading

researcher. She is active in educating and promoting Tobacco Harm Reduction, particularly in

helping smokers who are unwilling to quit. Recently she is the principal researcher for SMILE

study, an international research collaboration to evaluate the effect of switching from a

combustible-cigarette to a non-combustible product on oral health.

Summer Hanna, PhD serves as Head of Scientific Regulation on behalf of BAT. She is responsible for Group-wide scientific engagement to drive the awareness and acceptance of Tobacco Harm Reduction and the development of science-based regulatory approaches for reduced risk products globally. Dr. Hanna has held a variety of US and Global roles across Scientific Research & Development and Regulatory Affairs. She most recently led the development of the cannabinoid discovery science programme as part of BAT’s Beyond Nicotine strategy. Previously, Summer led teams within Reynolds’ FDA Submissions & Engagement team focused on their smokeless tobacco portfolio, along with previous roles in Analytical Research. Before joining Reynolds American in 2011, Hanna received her PhD in Analytical Chemistry from Wake Forest University. She currently serves as treasurer to the US Technical Advisory Group for ISO/ TC 126.

David MacKintosh has over 25 years’ experience of working on alcohol and drug policy, which has included working within the UK Cabinet Office (UKADCU), heading up the London Drug and Alcohol Policy Forum (LDAPF) and providing specialist advice to the Greater London Authority. He also spent six years as Head of Community Safety for the City of London and has served as a trustee of a number of charities addressing substance use problems. He has helped deliver a range of innovative campaigns and national best practice guidance, which have all had one common purpose, to reduce harm to individuals and communities. In 2020 he began working as an independent consultant and now helps Knowledge•Action•Change deliver the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction and THR Scholarship programmes.

Cheryl K. Olson, MPH, Sc.D. is a behavioral scientist internationally recognized for her work on health risk behaviors (including tobacco harm reduction) and the influence of media on youth. She earned a doctorate in health and social behavior from the Harvard School of Public Health. She spent 15 years on the psychiatry faculty of Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, where she co-directed the Center for Mental Health and Media. She has authored dozens of academic papers, and writes a monthly column on public health for Tobacco Reporter. Dr. Olson consults on nicotine product behavior research through McKinney Regulatory Science Advisors.

Michael Kariuki is a Consultant Paediatrician, Public Health specialist and an Epidemiologist with interest in Harm Reduction in Tobacco, Alcohol, Cannabis, Pesticide and Opioids. He a founder member and secretary of Harm Reduction Society in Kenya. He has over 15 years experience in clinical work, public health and leadership. Over the past two years he has conducted extensive work on THR including research on Toxicants of STPs in Kenya and being a host in media and writing of op-eds. He is self-driven desirous to see positive impact and change in society.He is a children’s advocate in safety and health.

Dr. Le Dinh Phuong has spent more than 30 years working in Intensive Care and Internal Medicine. In these fields, he has seen all the extents of smoking harms, from new smokers to end-stage lung disease patients. He is an experienced clinician, a medical educator as well as speaker and/or CME lecturer for different organizations related to Smoking Harm Reduction, such as Medical Universities, Vietnam Medical Association, Vietnam Young Physician Association. By these educational activities, he shares about tobacco harm reduction approaches with patients and local medical community. He is author of many op-eds in public newspapers and high-profile media to encourage smokers who otherwise continue smoking to switch to better alternatives. He has much attentiveness on harm reduction innovation as an important part of preventive medicine in many cardio-metabolic disorders as well.”

Kasia runs the Global Public Health Foundation, which aims to share research and experience in public health across all relevant sectors. She is also a lecturer at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Kasia's area of experience includes harm reduction, public health and event management.

Lindsey Stroud is a Senior Fellow at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, which provides data and analysis to inform and assist policymakers when addressing consumer products. Her main areas of focus are goods including alcohol, tobacco and vapor products, and regulatory policies that affect adult access, including harm reduction, technology, innovation, antitrust and privacy. At The Heartland Institute, she authored policy resources and hosted a podcast on tobacco harm reduction, and has also worked for state lawmakers in two states. Creator and manager of Tobacco Harm Reduction 101 (thr101.org), she holds senior positions at the American Vapor Manufacturers Association and the Independent Women's Forum.

Professor Marewa Glover is one of New Zealand’s leading tobacco control researchers. She has worked on reducing smoking-related harm for 32 years. She is recognized internationally for her advocacy on THR and was a Finalist in the New Zealander of the Year Supreme Award in 2019 recognising her contribution to reducing smoking in NZ. In 2018, Marewa was appointed Tobacco Section Editor for the Harm Reduction Journal. In 2018 she also established the Centre of Research Excellence: Indigenous Sovereignty & Smoking, an international program of research aimed at reducing smoking-related harms among Indigenous peoples globally. The Centre’s research was funded through to 1 September 2024 with grants from Global Action to End Smoking (formerly known as Foundation for Smoke-Free World), an independent U.S. nonprofit 501(c)(3) grantmaking organization, accelerating efforts worldwide to end the smoking epidemic. Neither Marewa nor the Centre have any commercial interests in any nicotine or tobacco products.

Dr. Oyston graduated in 1980 from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK, with two degrees: a medical degree and a degree in medical research. He trained as an anesthesiologist from 1983 to 1990, qualifying as a specialist in both the UK and Canada. He has also worked as an anesthesiologist in New Zealand, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. He was appointed Chief of Anesthesiology four times. He was also an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, and a peer assessor for the College of Physicians Surgeons of Ontario.

In November 2019, Dr. Oyston retired from clinical practice to work on smoking cessation advocacy and knowledge translation related to safer nicotine products for people who smoke.

He has published editorials on tobacco control topics in the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia and the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Dr. Arielle Selya is a behavioral science consultant specializing in tobacco harm reduction. Through her primary role as Senior Scientist at PinneyAssociates, Inc., she supports Juul Labs, Inc. in their scientific and regulatory efforts through behavioral study protocols, statistical methodology, and scientific publishing strategy and execution. Dr. Selya is also a consultant to the Center of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction (CoEHAR) on e-cigarette use behavioral research and critical analysis of scientific literature. She received her PhD in Neuroscience at Rutgers University and, prior to becoming a consultant, spent a decade in academia studying adolescent substance use and addiction. In addition to being a prolific contributor to the scientific literature, with over 70 scientific publications to her name, Dr. Selya is also actively engaged in both post-publication critiques of published research and in communicating scientific findings to broader audiences (see her collection of tweetorials here).

Kevin Garcia is a graduate student at Colorado State University studying public health and social work with a concentration in global health and health disparities. He is also a harm reduction content strategist for NEXT Distro, a tobacco harm reduction fellow for Filter, and graduate research assistant for the Parent-Child Relationships and Well-Being Lab. Prior, Garcia was a health educator providing street-based syringe access services and a bilingual medical case manager for people living with HIV. He initially became involved in harm reduction through Students for Sensible Drug Policy as a chapter leader for the Florida International University chapter and later as a member of the board of directors for the national organization. Garcia received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Florida International University and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Michelle Minton is a senior policy analyst at the Reason Foundation specializing in consumer policy, covering regulatory issues around gambling, tobacco harm reduction, cannabis legalization, alcohol, and nutrition. The author of numerous studies, her analyses have been published and cited in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today and peer-reviewed journals, and Michelle regularly appears in news media to discuss the unintended effects of laws designed to save adults from their own choices which not only conflicts with the principle of individual liberty, but often the goals of public health. She holds a BA from Johns Hopkins and an MSc from the University of New England.

Paul Newhouse, M.D. holds the Jim Turner Chair in Cognitive Disorders at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and is Professor of Psychiatry, Pharmacology, and Medicine. He is Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Cognitive Medicine (VCCM) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He directs the Clinical Core for the Vanderbilt Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and is also a physician-scientist at the Veterans Affairs Tennessee Valley Health Systems Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC). He is an Army veteran and served in Operation Desert Storm.

Dr. Newhouse received his undergraduate education at Kansas State University, attended medical school at Loyola University, Stritch School of Medicine, and completed his residency training in psychiatry at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center followed by a fellowship in Geriatric Psychopharmacology Research at the National Institute of Mental Health. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in both General Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry and was awarded the American Psychiatric Association Profiles in Courage award in 2002 and the Loyola University Alumnus of the Year Award for Research in 2017.

Dr. Newhouse's research has focused on brain cholinergic mechanisms in cognitive aging and the role of nicotinic cholinergic receptor systems in normal and impaired cognitive functioning in humans. His work established the importance of brain nicotinic cholinergic receptor systems in normal cognitive processes and established these receptors as a therapeutic target in Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions. He has pioneered the development of human models for new cognitive drug development including early first-in-human studies to the design and implementation of national multicenter trials. He has emphasized the development of novel cholinergic agents for clinical use in cognitive disorders and has established novel brain imaging and biomarker-based measures of brain drug effects through the use of novel pharmacologic‐imaging methodologies. His research has been continuously funded by NIH since 1989 and he is funded currently by the National Institute on Aging, the Alzheimer’s Association, the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, and other private companies and foundations.

Dr McGovern qualified in Medicine in 1995 from Trinity College Dublin and has worked as a GP specialising in the treatment of substance misuse since the implementation of the methadone treatment protocol in 1998. He is Medical Director of the Priority Medical Clinic, a private addiction treatment programme located in South County Dublin. In January 2022 he was appointed Clinical Lead for the HSE Addiction Services in Louth Meath & The Midlands. Dr McGovern holds a Master’s degree in Clinical and Public Health Aspects of Addiction from The National Addiction Centre, King’s College London, is a Diplomate of the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) and holds a Professional Diploma in Clinical Leadership from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He is also one of the first members of the International Doctors for Healthy Drug Policies (IDHDP),an international group of medical addiction experts aiming to promote sensible drug policies. Dr McGovern is also a member of the Irish Chapter of the New Nicotine Alliance.

Dr Beaumont is an Australian general practitioner. She founded the Australian ‘SmokerHealth’ national telehealth clinic (formerly MedicalNicotine) for vape prescriptions - a policy unique to Australia. Lung cancer and cardiac disease testing is also provided, for early diagnosis of the main diseases that kill smokers. Carolyn combines this with locum GP work in remote Australian communities, and understands firsthand the complex healthcare barriers that
smokers from these regions face. In Australia’s generally negative stance towards vaping, Carolyn plays an important role in THR. She is well known for her media engagement, presentations, publications and conference involvement. She is writing her first book titled ‘Unfiltered’, a collection of interviews with doctors from fields such as cardiology, vascular surgery, anaesthesia, neurosurgery and oncology. ‘Unfiltered’ aims to provide a compelling narrative across medical specialties, which focuses squarely on the harms caused by smoking and not by nicotine itself.

Mark Oates is the Director of We Vape and the Snus Users Association, which are both consumer groups standing up for the right of individuals to use safer nicotine products. He advocates for evidence-based harm reduction in a range of areas from tobacco to drug policy, a subject he has written on for the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Adam Smith Institute, where he is a Fellow. He also provided consumer evidence in the 2018 ECJ case to overturn the ban of snus across the European Union.

Martin is a management consultant specialising in organisational and leadership development; a designer and facilitator of innovation and organisational change. He is an experienced manager, having held a number of senior executive and non-executive positions during his career. Having worked for over 40 years across health/social voluntary and philanthropic sectors, he possesses an extensive range of skills, knowledge and experience successfully providing management, leadership and governance support to organisations and individuals. Throughout his career Martin has worked with a range of stakeholders, including national and local politicians, ministers, senior civil servants, local authorities, NHS Boards and other sectoral groups. He has also been a non-executive board member of various agencies, including voluntary sector organisations, professional bodies and social enterprises. Martin has professional qualifications in nursing and holds a Masters in Business Administration and a Masters in Community Care.

Dr. Moira Gilchrist leads the global strategic and scientific communications for Philip Morris International (PMI). From bringing to life PMI’s fast-pace progress as it evolves into a smoke-free business and expands in areas outside the tobacco and nicotine space, to translating the science behind PMI’s smoke-free alternatives into information that policymakers and the public can easily understand, Moira and her team are at the heart of the company’s historic evolution. She regularly engages with public health authorities, media, and decision-makers around the world, demonstrating the benefits of scientifically substantiated, smoke-free products for those adults who would otherwise continue smoking and calling for risk-proportionate regulation that affords these people accurate information about and access to these better alternatives. In short, she plays a vital role in PMI’s transition away from cigarettes and its journey toward a better, smoke-free future.

Prior to her current role, Moira held several positions within PMI, including leading the
Reduced-Risk Products Corporate Affairs team, serving as director of Scientific
Engagement within the R&D function, and working in both product development and
commercialization.
Before joining PMI in 2006, Moira worked in the pharmaceutical sector for more than a
decade. She was a principal consultant within PwC’s and IBM’s pharmaceutical industry
consulting groups and held positions within both industry and nonprofit organizations as
a developer of drug formulations.
Moira holds a degree in Pharmacy and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, both from the
University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

Samrat Chowdhery is a journalist and consumer advocate who has steered global and national movements for adult access to safer nicotine alternatives. He is the director of Association of Vapers India, among the oldest tobacco harm reduction-focused consumer nonprofits. He is a past president of International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organisations, an umbrella body of over 30 national groups. He was a recipient of Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarships to investigate the efficacy and affordability of vaping and smokeless alternatives among bidi and khaini users in India and offers mentorship on advocacy and research in advancing safer nicotine availability in low- and middle-income countries. He authors articles in the harm reduction magazine, Filter.

Fiona Patten was a member of the Victorian parliament from 2014 to 2022. She campaigned on harm reduction policies for 30 years and ran the Australian adult industry association (Eros) for 20 years. She initiated and delivered reforms including voluntary assisted dying, abortion law reform, the decriminalisation of sex work and drug law reform. Since leaving parliament she has continued to work on social reform issues including criminal justice reform, regulating adult use of cannabis, access to medicinal cannabis, drug harm reduction including for tobacco, and a greater separation of church and state. She currently sits on a variety of health and justice boards. Fiona is passionate about tobacco harm reduction and constantly disappointed with her own country’s approach to it. In 2018 she published her autobiography -‘Sex, Drugs and the Electoral Roll’. She is the owner of a registered wildlife sanctuary.

Christopher Russell, Ph.D. is a behavioural scientist and Director of Russell Burnett Research and Consultancy Ltd (RBRC), Glasgow, United Kingdom. Dr Russell leads the design, conduct, and reporting of perception and behavioural research studies of reduced risk tobacco and nicotine products, including electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS, vaping products), heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches. Studies are designed to yield a range of cross sectional and longitudinal evidence on: (i) the likelihood that tobacco users and non users will initiate use of a new product; (ii) how adult consumers actually use a new product in everyday life; (iii) how cigarette smoking behaviour changes over time concurrent with new product use (e.g., switching, reduction); and (iv) behavioural intentions, risk perceptions, and subjective effects of a new product. These sources of evidence can inform regulatory evaluations of the potential impact of marketing a new tobacco/nicotine product on future tobacco/nicotine use behaviour and population health.

Paul Newhouse, M.D. holds the Jim Turner Chair in Cognitive Disorders at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and is Professor of Psychiatry, Pharmacology, and Medicine. He is Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Cognitive Medicine (VCCM) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He directs the Clinical Core for the Vanderbilt Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and is also a physician-scientist at the Veterans Affairs Tennessee Valley Health Systems Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC). He is an Army veteran and served in Operation Desert Storm.

Dr. Newhouse received his undergraduate education at Kansas State University, attended medical school at Loyola University, Stritch School of Medicine, and completed his residency training in psychiatry at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center followed by a fellowship in Geriatric Psychopharmacology Research at the National Institute of Mental Health. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in both General Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry and was awarded the American Psychiatric Association Profiles in Courage award in 2002 and the Loyola University Alumnus of the Year Award for Research in 2017.

Dr. Newhouse's research has focused on brain cholinergic mechanisms in cognitive aging and the role of nicotinic cholinergic receptor systems in normal and impaired cognitive functioning in humans. His work established the importance of brain nicotinic cholinergic receptor systems in normal cognitive processes and established these receptors as a therapeutic target in Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions. He has pioneered the development of human models for new cognitive drug development including early first-in-human studies to the design and implementation of national multicenter trials. He has emphasized the development of novel cholinergic agents for clinical use in cognitive disorders and has established novel brain imaging and biomarker-based measures of brain drug effects through the use of novel pharmacologic‐imaging methodologies. His research has been continuously funded by NIH since 1989 and he is funded currently by the National Institute on Aging, the Alzheimer’s Association, the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, and other private companies and foundations.

Sudhanshu Patwardhan is a British-Indian U.K.-licensed medical doctor, passionate about innovation in cancer prevention and early screening. Between 2000 and 2019, he lived and worked in three continents, holding senior roles in research, strategy and policy in the pharmaceutical and nicotine industries. For the past six years, Sud has set up and grown ventures in strategic advisory and healthtech, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries.

Konstantinos Farsalinos, MD, MPH, is a physician and senior researcher specialising in Public Health at the Universities of Patras and West Attica in Greece. He has conducted extensive research on smoking, tobacco harm reduction, and vaping since 2011, publishing over 100 studies and presenting in more than 80 conferences. He authored the first systematic review on the safety and risk profile of e-cigarettes in 2014 and the first book on e-cigarettes, published by Elsevier. His research was influential in shaping the EU’s regulatory framework on vaping. In 2020, he was recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher for his significant impact in global science. During the pandemic, he published studies exploring the relationship between smoking, nicotine, and COVID-19.

Martin Cullip is a former company director and International Fellow of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, who has written and blogged on free market and lifestyle consumer issues for over a decade. As a user of e-cigarettes and other safer nicotine products, he is a particularly passionate consumer advocate for all forms of tobacco harm reduction and has a keen interest in the rapidly-evolving nicotine market and the politics surrounding it. Martin is a former Chair of UK educational charity The New Nicotine Alliance and has taken part in parliamentary evidence sessions and consumer, industry, and political events on the subject domestically and internationally.

Professor Gerry Stimson is a leading advocate for tobacco harm reduction. A public health social scientist, with over 50 years’ experience of research and advocacy, he was one of the founders of harm reduction in the 1990s, helping to develop and evaluate harm reduction in the UK as a response to HIV/AIDS. Gerry has advised the UK Government, WHO, UNAIDS, UNODC, the World Bank and numerous governments around the world on issues relating to drugs, HIV infection and AIDS, and alcohol. He has also published over 220 scientific publications and several books. He is a co-founder of the Global Forum on Nicotine.  Gerry is advisor to the  Knowledge•Action•Change projects on tobacco harm reduction including the Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship Programme and the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction project. He is Emeritus Professor at Imperial College London.

Education – High School from England; Bachelor from Assumption University, Thailand; Master from Avila University, USA Social – Past President of Rotary club, committee of the Federation of the Thai Industries, etc. Works –Intertrade Manager at Probiotic and Herbal manufacturing company. Present – Director / founding member of ENDs Cigarette Smoke Thailand (ECST). Also, member of the Parliament's committee on Laws and Regulations of E-Cig. Asa was a former smoker who smoked for over 37 years and had tried almost all quit methods until he found vaping in 2005 and completely switched over 15 years ago (there were some years of dual-use) which made him successfully quit smoking ever since. Asa is an avid advocate for Tobacco Harm Reduction who resides in Thailand, the country that prohibits importation and distribution of vape products. ECST is a consumer group that Asa founded over 10 years ago when vaping became illegal. ECST had sent petition letters to various governmental and related entities asking for the right to choose. The primary goal is to legalize THR as an alternative for those who want to quit smoking.

Nancy’s THR advocacy began in 2015 as one of the founders/co directors of Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA) in New Zealand, doing battle for the rights of vapers to be able to access what they need to become/remain smoke free. Nancy is also the Executive Coordinator for the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA). CAPHRA supports consumer THR advocacy organisations and activities throughout the Asia Pacific region and beyond, and has developed various programmes for consumers including the Voices4Vape online seminar series, sCOPe consumer livestream, the Advocates Voice online newscast and the Advocates Voice Live sessions. CAPHRA, under Nancy’s leadership, also established the collaborative “Right2Vape” testimonial database with CASAA in the USA, and the “Right to Switch” change.org petition, both featuring thousands of consumer testimonials from across the world.

Konstantinos Farsalinos, MD, MPH, is a physician and senior researcher specialising in Public Health at the Universities of Patras and West Attica in Greece. He has conducted extensive research on smoking, tobacco harm reduction, and vaping since 2011, publishing over 100 studies and presenting in more than 80 conferences. He authored the first systematic review on the safety and risk profile of e-cigarettes in 2014 and the first book on e-cigarettes, published by Elsevier. His research was influential in shaping the EU’s regulatory framework on vaping. In 2020, he was recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher for his significant impact in global science. During the pandemic, he published studies exploring the relationship between smoking, nicotine, and COVID-19.

Fiona Patten was a member of the Victorian parliament from 2014 to 2022. She campaigned on harm reduction policies for 30 years and ran the Australian adult industry association (Eros) for 20 years. She initiated and delivered reforms including voluntary assisted dying, abortion law reform, the decriminalisation of sex work and drug law reform. Since leaving parliament she has continued to work on social reform issues including criminal justice reform, regulating adult use of cannabis, access to medicinal cannabis, drug harm reduction including for tobacco, and a greater separation of church and state. She currently sits on a variety of health and justice boards. Fiona is passionate about tobacco harm reduction and constantly disappointed with her own country’s approach to it. In 2018 she published her autobiography -‘Sex, Drugs and the Electoral Roll’. She is the owner of a registered wildlife sanctuary.

Jonathan Fell has followed developments in the tobacco and nicotine industries for 30 years. He began his career as an equity research analyst covering tobacco and other consumer industries at Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank, and from 2013 to 2022 he was a founder and portfolio manager at Ash Park, an investment manager focused on investments in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. Jon now spends his time as a consultant in the tobacco and nicotine spheres and working in the not-for-profit sector, including chairing a London livery company charity, helping to run a Scout group, and serving as a director at Article 36, a UK-based organisation working to promote public scrutiny over the development and use of weapons.

Joe Thompson is Group Science & Regulatory Affairs Director at Imperial Brands. He is responsible for the science that substantiates Imperial Brands' next generation products as potentially reduced harm relative to continued smoking and the stewardship of Imperials products. He leads a large multi-disciplined team of 200 people, and a laboratory network spread over several countries. Joe has 24 years experience in the science of tobacco & nicotine, risk assessment and regulatory affairs. Joe is also the President of CORESTA (Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco), a global organisation with over 170 company, institute, and laboratory members. CORESTA is an authoritative source of publicly available, credible science and best practices related to tobacco products. Joe is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and a European Registered Toxicologist (ERT) with degrees in Toxicology and Physiology.

Joel is an avid THR crusader who has been at the fore front of THR sensitization and awareness engagements in Uganda and the African region from 2019 to date. He is a past and current scholar with KAC and a board member of CASA (Campaign for Safer Alternatives). Joel's core objective is to agitate for a conducive environment for low-risk nicotine alternatives and ultimately a progression of Uganda and the region towards a smoke-free future.

Colin Mendelsohn worked as a medical practitioner, academic and researcher in smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction for 40 years. He is the Founding Chairman of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association and was a Conjoint Associate Professor in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales. He was a member of the expert advisory group that develops the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ national smoking cessation guidelines. He is actively involved in teaching, writing, and advocating for tobacco harm reduction.

Since graduating with a degree in Politics and Government in 1978, Paddy has worked in a number of aspects of public health and social care, including alcohol and drug services, the probation service and public health advocacy. In addition to these he has worked in event management, including directing five editions of the International Harm Reduction conference. Since 2012 he has been mainly involved in the development and promotion of Tobacco Harm Reduction, including directing the Global Forum on Nicotine. Paddy is currently a Director of GFN Ltd.