12 JUNE 2024
Side event: GSTHR Roadshows, Wednesday
THR at the Crossroads in LATAM, part 1
Country regulatory update
This event will provide valuable insights into the current state of vaping across Latin America, with a focus on health. The seminar is part of the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction programme.
Simultaneous translation (EN/ES) will be available.
Moderator
Francisco Ordóñez
Panellist (Chile)
Ignacio Leiva
Panellist (Mexico)
Tomas O'gorman
Panellist
Tomasz Jerzyński
THR at the Crossroads in LATAM, part 2
Health, science, sustainability and human rights
This event will provide valuable insights into the current state of vaping across Latin America, with a focus on health. The seminar is part of the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction programme.
Simultaneous translation (EN/ES) will be available.
Moderator
Gina Reyes
Panellist (Argentina)
Diego Verrastro
Panellist (Mexico)
Juan José Cirión
Panellist (Mexico)
Roberto Sussman
Panellist
Boris Platonoff
Taxation, Regulation and THR – Delivering for Better Health
The GSTHR Road Show event will look at the vital role taxation and regulation can play in helping people move on from smoking.
With an expert panel, including policy and legal experts as well as those with experience or different national approaches, this promises to be a unique opportunity to consider how these levers can be used to improve the lives of millions of smokers.
Simultaneous translation (EN/ES) will be available.
Panellist
David Sweanor
Panellist
Clive Bates
Panellist
Carissa Düring
Moderator
Arkadi Sharkov
Panellist
Giorgi Mzhavanadze
Panellist
Alex Gogoana
12 JUNE 2024
Pre-conference meetings, Wednesday
Consumer meeting - open
Host
Fiona Patten
13 JUNE 2024
Day 1, Thursday
Opening and Keynote #1 - Health and economic benefits of tobacco harm reduction
- What does the current evidence tell us about the potential health and economic benefits of safer nicotine products?
- How should we weight this evidence?
- What more do we need to know, what is the prognosis for the future and what are the short and long-term costs of different policy alternatives?
- How might legislators and regulators balance health and economic imperatives to achieve positive outcomes?
- What factors might make for an effective legislative and regulatory framework?
- How should future progress be monitored, and policies adjusted in response?
Host
Grzegorz Król
Speaker
Andrzej Fal
Respondent
Michelle Minton
Workshop EE & CA Session - From Oversight to Action: Addressing Smoking Rates in Vulnerable Populations (RU language w/ EN translation)
Russian language session with simultaneous English translation
It is widely recognized that smoking rates among key and vulnerable populations surpass those of other groups. However, across much of the globe, support services often overlook this issue. Consequently, many will face mortality not due to their substance use or mental health conditions, but rather as a result of smoking-related diseases. This session aims to discuss the reasons for this oversight, with a particular emphasis on Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and to generate ideas for effective interventions to address this critical issue.
Host
Kasia Kowalczyk
Speaker
Alla Bessonova
Speaker
Gintautas-Yuozas Kentra
Speaker
Uladzimir Pikirenia
Speaker
Jarkyn Shadymanova
ISoNTech, part 1
Host
Martin Cullip
Science Lab #1
Host
Ian Jones
Author & presenter
Carrie Wade
Title: Estimating HPHC Exposure on a “Per Stick Basis”
Presenter
Karin Jacobson
Title: Comprehensive Literature Review on the Indoor Air Quality Studies for Heated Tobacco Products (by Yoko Miyamoto)
Presenter
Marewa Glover
Title: Empowering Lady Health Workers for Smoking Cessation: Lessons from a Rural Pakistan Initiative (by Nazia Shaheen)
Presenter
Roberto Sussman
Title: Reviews of Overheating ENDS Aerosol: Recent Updates (by Sebastien Soulet)
Presenter
Sud Patwardhan
Title: Bridging the policy-practice gap in tobacco cessation
Workshop - Media engagement for consumers
Host
Nancy Loucas
Host
Heneage Mitchell
Speaker
Lindsey Stroud
Workshop - Smoking cessation in the 21st century
Host
Marewa Glover
ISoNTech, part 2
Host
Martin Cullip
Science Lab #2
Host
Summer Hanna
Presenter
Ondrej Koumal
Title: Evolution of Tobacco Sales and Use Following Introduction of Heated Tobacco Products in Japan
Presenter
Tomasz Jerzyński
Title: Global Survey of Consumer Organizations Advocating for Safer Nicotine Products
Presenter
Andrea Patton
Title: Why Do Youth Use E-Cigarettes? Analysis of the National Youth Tobacco Survey 2016 to 2023
Presenter
Roberto Sussman
Title: Environmental Vape Aerosol, Is It Harmful to Bystanders?
Rhetoric, Regulation and Reality: consumer experience of the increasingly complex THR landscape
Despite considerable scientific evidence to support the efficacy - and relative safety - of safer nicotine products (SNPs) powerful voices continue to place obstacles in the way of consumers. Consumers are an often neglected voice in the debates that often result in disproportionate regulation, restrictions on sales and use and outright bans applied to SNPs. There are some notable exceptions, where consumers have had their voices heard and garnered support from legislators, resulting in a more balance and nuanced approach.
This session will attempt to ’take stock’ of where we are and what the next steps might look like, and will be consumer lead, with panellists from different regions reflecting on how the debate has been conducted and what influence they may have been able to bring to bear. What are the challenges and what strategies can have a positive impact? How can the science supporting SNPs be effectively promoted and how can the consumer experience be incorporated - ’nothing about us without us’? Who are the key actors and how might they be engaged in a constructive way? What can most effectively assist consumer advocacy to succeed?
Host
Tom Gleeson
Speaker
Joseph Magero
Speaker
Ignacio Leiva
Speaker
Carissa Düring
Speaker
Asa Saligupta
Panel Discussion #1 - The costs of prohibition
An examination of the health, social and economic costs of prohibition, with a panel reflecting on parallel experiences with illicit drugs and alcohol. The panel comprises politicians, thought leaders from the drug and alcohol fields and a consumer/vape trader perspective.
Host
Ethan Nadelmann
Panellist
Fiona Patten
Panellist
Lindsey Stroud
Panellist
Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh
Panellist
Harry Shapiro
Michael Russell Oration and Awards
Bridging the Divide: Taking Global Action to End Smoking
Host
David MacKintosh
Speaker
Cliff Douglas
Awards Host
Gerry Stimson
14 JUNE 2024
Day 2, Friday
Keynote #2 - Over/misinterpretation of the precautionary principle in relation to safer nicotine
Whilst no activity has a total absence of risk, science has to embrace risks and challenges to evolve. The over/misinterpretation of the precautionary principle is often an impediment to progress. Drawing on his experience of working with dependence in other fields, Dr McGovern will examine, in relation to nicotine use:
- How should we categorise/quantify risk?
- Is there a hierarchy of risk(s)?
- What are the consequences of avoiding all risks?
- How can equivalence assist in assessing risk?
- Who should determine the limits of risk – for the individual and communities?
Are there lost opportunities for tobacco harm reduction to have a significant impact on personal and societal health improvement, due to the inappropriate application of the precautionary principle?
Host
Sarah Cooney
Speaker
Garrett McGovern
Respondent
Alex Wodak
Workshop - What does 'independent' mean, in relation to THR science?
Scientific data are critical to our understanding of the harm reduction potential of novel tobacco and nicotine products. Such data can be used in shaping evidence-based regulation and to inform consumers of the relative risks of tobacco product use. Increasingly, there are calls to preclude data generated by manufacturers in informing policy, as this data is seen by some as not ‘independent’ and biased by commercial goals. This panel session will explore:
- What does independent mean when it comes to tobacco harm reduction science?
- Why might manufacturers’ data not be acceptable?
- Are manufacturers’ data on nicotine products any different from pharmaceutical industry data on novel drugs?
- Does not being independent mean that we should not trust the data? Should we ignore it? Or just acknowledge it and move on without looking at it?
- What are the dangers of ignoring evidence seen as ‘dependent’ and what does that mean for THR? Are there unintended consequences?
- How do we move forward from here? How do we make sure both dependent and independent evidence is used to inform consumers and to help shape regulation?
Host
Ian Fearon
Speaker
Marewa Glover
Speaker
Sarah Cooney
Speaker
George Hardie
Speaker
Colin Mendelsohn
Science Lab #3
Host
Karin Jacobson
Presenter
Rosalia Emma
Title: Replica Project: A Journey Through Multicentric Research Endeavors
Presenter
Konstantinos Farsalinos
Title: Flavored E-Cigarette Use at the Time of Quitting Smoking: Comparison Between Young Adults (18-24 Years Old) and Adults (>24 Years Old)
Presenter
Anna Masser
Title: "Why Nicotine Content is not Nicotine Uptake”
Presenter
Elaine Round
Title: Accelerating Towards A Smokeless World
Workshop - Regulation round up – global perspectives
Host
Barnaby Page
Speaker
Michael Landl
Speaker
Peter Beckett
Speaker
Lindsey Stroud
Speaker (Pre-recorded video)
Alan Zhao
Speaker
David Yu
Film Festival #1
Host
Emmanuel Mwape
Presenter
Emil Todorov
Presenter
Marewa Glover
Presenter
Jeffrey Zamora
Presenter
Marilena Marchetti
Presenter
Jeffrey Zamora
Workshop - LATAM Session (ES language w/ EN translation)
Spanish language session with simultaneous English translation
This workshop will explore the horizontal relationship of physicians, consumer advocates, and regulators to promote science-based communication and harm reduction alternatives to advance public health.
Host
Jeffrey Zamora
Host
Carmen Escrig
Speaker
Jorge Palma
Speaker
Diego Verrastro
Speaker
Tomás O'Gorman
Speaker
Fernando Bueno
Film Festival #2
Host
Emmanuel Mwape
Presenter
Miguel Castro
Presenter
Gina Reyes
Presenter
Aman Mahajan
Presenter
Bengt Wiberg
Presenter
Bornface Kachiza
Presenter
Anime Ganiza
Science Lab #4
Host
Summer Hanna
Presenter
Mirko Casu
Title: Digital and Mobile Health Innovations: Enhancing Smoking Detection and Cessation
Presenter
Chase Wallace
Title: Smoke Free Sweden 2023: Sweden Is About to Become the First Smoke-Free Country
Presenter
Colin Mendelsohn
Title: What Are the Harms of Vaping in Young People Who Have Never Smoked
Presenter
Karin Jacobson
Title: Navigating the Uncharted Waters of Unintended Consequences in Tobacco Regulation Policies
Presenter
Martin Fitzpatrick
Title: An Observational Study of a Heated Tobacco System Among Adult Smokers with No Intention to Quit
Workshop - Regulatory risk, investment and tobacco harm reduction
For Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) to become widespread, affordable and appealing, reduced-risk alternatives to harmful tobacco products must be legally available and accessible. Achieving this requires sustained, substantial investment. The pace of harm reduction is closely tied to investment levels, influenced by potential risks and returns. Regulatory risk and uncertainty increase the returns required by investors, reducing available capital. Consequently:
- Reduced Investment in Product Development: Lower investment hinders the development of safer and more appealing products supported by scientific research. Without this, regulators are unlikely to consider them as effective harm-reduction solutions, and existing RRPs do not appeal to most smokers.
- Limited Accessibility in the Global South: Insufficient investment in cost reduction makes these products inaccessible to consumers in the Global South, home to 80% of harmful tobacco users.
- Hesitancy to Enter High-Risk Markets: Companies and investors are less likely to enter markets with high regulatory risk
Host
Pieter Vorster
Speaker
Sud Patwardhan
Speaker
Jonathan Fell
Speaker
Marina Murphy
Panel Discussion #2 - Legislation and regulation - health and economic consequences
An examination of the health and economic impact of tobacco control measures and the role for proportionate regulation and risk management for alternative nicotine products.
Host
Clive Bates
Panellist
David Sweanor
Panellist
Nevena Crljenko
Panellist
Konstantinos Farsalinos
Panellist
Joe Thompson
Film Festival Awards
Host
Emmanuel Mwape
15 JUNE 2024
Day 3, Saturday
Keynote #3 - THR market influence - past, present and future
Vivien is a nicotine market specialist, and until recently, the Managing Director & Senior Analyst, Global Beverages, Tobacco and Cannabis, at TD Cowen, in New York City.
In her keynote she will address a number of themes, among them:
- What factors prompted and drove initial investment in this field?
- What is the state of the current market?
- Who are the major investors/stakeholders?
- What might be the impact of regulation – and possible prohibition – on future investment and the development of the next generation of safer nicotine products?
- Are there lessons to be learnt from other emerging markets, for example the market for medicinal and recreational cannabis?
Host
David Sweanor
Speaker
Vivien Azer
Respondent
Jonathan Fell
Panel Discussion #3 - Rating the evidence - good and bad science
The hosts, together with a panel representing scientists, consumers and other stakeholders will review a selection of scientific papers, published in the past 12 months, on nicotine and THR-related issues, identifying the best and worst examples.
Host
Clive Bates
Host
Arielle Selya
Panellist
Gizelle Baker
Panellist
Roberto Sussman
Panel Discussion #4 - The global culture war over THR
An examination of the nature of the THR debate, including different factions' objectives and the tactics being used, such as misinformation, emotive appeals and personal attacks. Panellists will share their own experiences, discuss why the debate is being conducted as it is, and ask how we should best operate in a challenging and often hostile environment.
Host
Will Godfrey
Panellist
Marewa Glover
Panellist
Rohan Sequeira
Panellist
Maria Papaioannoy-Duic
Panellist
Christopher Snowdon
Closing remarks
Host
Jessica Harding
