USA: New Analysis Shows No Clear Evidence That Heated Tobacco Products Are a Better Alternative to Cigarettes or That They Help Smokers Quit
New STOP brief examines the latest scientific evidence, sales data and industry tactics (New York, USA, April 30, 2025): As sales of heated tobacco products (HTPs) increase globally, a new brief from tobacco watchdog, STOP, reveals that while the tobacco industry markets these products as “reduced risk,” there is no clear evidence that they are a better alternative,...
THAILLAND: Thailand moves strongly to enforce e-cigarette ban
The Thai government has recently toughened its stance on vapers and e-cigarette-related products. Two months earlier, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra had ordered an intensified crackdown on e-cigarettes. Since the launch of this campaign, sales and the number of e-cigarette users have fallen by more than 80 percent. Despite this significant decline, authorities are keen...
Success: CEDAW Calls to Protect Women’s Rights by Strengthening Tobacco Policies
Recently, momentum has been growing around the human rights field understanding the extreme harm caused by tobacco companies. This is made particularly evident by an important win in a technical policy paper – a win that is directly related to advocacy efforts from ASH and our partners in the tobacco control community. Human rights principles...
PHILLIPINES: Group files complaint vs tobacco firm for Steve Aoki concert sponsorship
Public health groups on Tuesday filed a complaint against Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation (PMFTC) over its sponsorship of a Steve Aoki concert. The complaint was lodged at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the Office for the Special Mandate on Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products (OSMV) as it cites possible violations of...
USA: Supreme Court sides with the FDA in its dispute over sweet-flavored vaping products
BY: WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled for the Food and Drug Administration in its crackdown on sweet-flavored vaping products following a surge in teen electronic cigarette use. But the justices’ unanimous decision throwing out a federal appeals court ruling is not the final word in the case, and the FDA could change its approach now that President Donald Trump has...
USA: FDA tobacco official is removed from post in latest blow to health agency’s leadership
BY: MATTHEW PERRONE WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration’s chief tobacco regulator was removed from his post Tuesday, part of sweeping cuts to the federal health workforce that have cleared out many of the nation’s top experts overseeing food, drugs, vaccines and products containing nicotine. The agency’s tobacco director, Brian King, notified his staff in an email: “It...
NIGERIA: Increase Tobacco Control Fund for public health protection, NGOs urge FG
Some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have called on the Federal Government to increase the Tobacco Control Fund (TCF) beyond the N13 million allocated to it in the national budget for 2025, in order to protect public health. The Nigerian Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation...
Tobacco-Free Farms Initiative in Kenya and Zambia
In March 2025, WHO and its partners held a virtual stakeholder consultation to review progress and share strategies for the Tobacco-Free Farms Initiative (TFF), implemented in Kenya and Zambia. This initiative aims to support smallholder farmers in transitioning from tobacco cultivation to sustainable alternative livelihoods that are healthier, more profitable, and environmentally friendly. Key achievements...
