Cut Through The Noise: The 12th Global Nicotine Forum Will Explore Effective Communication Strategies For Tobacco Harm Reduction

Cut through the noise: The 12th Global Nicotine Forum will explore effective communication strategies for tobacco harm reduction

Registration is now open for the 12th Global Nicotine Forum (GFN) to be held in Warsaw, Poland, from June 19 to June 21, 2025, with the theme "Challenging Perceptions - Effective Communication of tobacco harm Reduction", which aims to explore ways to overcome the current major obstacles to promoting this approach.
The scientific evidence for tobacco harm reduction is growing, as is consumer acceptance of safer nicotine products;
However, the public's risk perception and understanding of the role of these products in smoking cessation has deteriorated;
Experts at the Global Nicotine Forum (GFN) in June will explore how transmission issues are hampering progress on tobacco harm reduction.

Registration is now open for the annual Global Nicotine Forum (GFN), which will host its twelfth session from Thursday, June 19 to Saturday, June 21, 2025 at the President Hotel (formerly Warsaw Marriott) in Warsaw, Poland. The conference, entitled "Challenging Perceptions - Effective Communication of Tobacco harm Reduction", aims to explore how to overcome the current major obstacles to scaling up this approach, which has the potential to significantly improve the health of millions of smokers around the world.

Since the beginning of this century, nicotine delivery systems have made significant technological advances. E-cigarettes, nicotine packs, pasteurized snus, and heated tobacco products all offer a safer way to use nicotine than traditional combustible cigarettes. They decouple the intake of nicotine, a relatively low-risk substance, from the serious health hazards associated with inhaling tobacco smoke or using high-risk oral tobacco.

In countries such as New Zealand, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the widespread use of safer nicotine products has accelerated the decline in smoking rates. In some markets, sales of these products are even challenging the market dominance of traditional combustible cigarettes. However, this progress has been hampered by a paradox: while the scientific evidence supporting tobacco harm reduction is growing, public perception of safer nicotine products is deteriorating.

Internationally, bans and restrictions on safer nicotine products are increasing rapidly. A 2024 study covering more than 28,000 smokers in the United Kingdom found that public perceptions of the risks of e-cigarettes have deteriorated significantly over the past decade, and even in 2023, a majority of smokers incorrectly believe that e-cigarettes are as harmful or more harmful than traditional cigarettes.

Jessica Harding, General Assembly Director of the Global Nicotine Forum, said the current communication challenge is a key node in the development of tobacco harm reduction:

"We are a quarter of a century into tobacco harm reduction, and millions of people have quit smoking with safer nicotine products, but the process is still too slow, and the mode of transmission is an important factor. "We need to communicate effectively not only to policy makers, but also at the grassroots level, through communication between consumers, to help people who are still smoking find the right way for them to quit or switch to safer products."

The GFN25 conference will encourage participants to reflect, discuss and debate how to engage professionals and consumers to address the misperceptions, misperceptions and misleading information that are hampering progress on tobacco harm reduction. The conference will bring together global experts in nicotine and tobacco harm reduction, consumer advocates, and professionals who specialize in the dissemination of complex information.

Registration for the conference is now open, and discounted accommodation rates are available until May 15.

Daily sessions will include:

• Keynote speech with experts sharing the latest research results;

• Review session, special guests will conduct professional analysis, and open audience questions and answers (live and online);

• Panel discussions and workshops to provide more opportunities for interaction and participation.

The conference organizers also provide on-site and online translation services in Spanish and Russian, as well as a dedicated Spanish session focusing on Iberian and American issues. In addition, side sessions and satellite sessions will be arranged on 18 June (the day before the conference), with some activities open to registered delegates.

The Global Nicotine Forum's broadcaster, Global Nicotine Forum TV (GFN TV), will once again provide live commentary on the conference, and all registered delegates will have the opportunity to contribute content and share research, advocacy or perspectives on tobacco harm reduction. The Global Nicotine Forum (GFNFives), ScienceLab and the GFN Film Festival, as well as the first Global Nicotine Forum Photo Festival, are calling for submissions until the May 14 deadline.