IN THE NEWS

Filter Magazine: Tobacco Harm Reduction Should Be a Standard Part of HIV Care

People living with HIV smoke at rates two to four times higher than the general population — and in many cases, lung cancer has surpassed HIV itself as the leading cause of death among those on antiretroviral therapy. A new briefing paper from the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction argues that HIV services must urgently integrate tobacco harm reduction using safer nicotine products, calling it a low-cost, high-impact intervention that is readily implementable in existing care settings.

California Scores Legal Victory Protecting Harm Reduction in Federal Homelessness Funding

A federal court ruling has blocked the Trump administration's attempt to disqualify homelessness organizations that use harm reduction strategies from receiving federal HUD funding. The ruling — which CalMatters describes as a rebuke of the administration's "slapdash imposition of political whims" — protects organizations serving people in active addiction and upholds the role of evidence-based harm reduction in addressing homelessness.

Global Report: Safer Nicotine Products Now Reach 144 Million Users Worldwide, Driving Smoking Declines

A new report from UK-based public health agency Knowledge-Action-Change finds that over two-thirds of the world's adult population now has legal access to at least one safer nicotine product. With an estimated 144 million users of vapes, snus, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches globally, the report highlights strong evidence linking the rise of these alternatives to meaningful reductions in smoking rates — and argues that tobacco harm reduction, if fully realized, could rapidly decrease smoking-related mortality.

Harm Reduction Programs Brace for an Uncertain Future Under the Trump Administration

As the Trump administration folds SAMHSA into a new agency and restricts how federal funds can be used for harm reduction, organizations on the front lines of the overdose crisis are facing devastating funding losses. Experts warn that cutting evidence-based programs — from syringe services to naloxone distribution — will undo years of progress, with one Boston physician cautioning: "Any retreat from things that clearly have been effective will likely mean an increase in overdose deaths."

Drug Policy Alliance: New Tool Tracks Federal Cuts to Overdose Prevention Services

The federal government's rollback of funding for lifesaving overdose prevention services has been sweeping: at least $588 million in NIH addiction research cuts, $1.7 billion in SAMHSA block grant eliminations, and $88 million in DOJ addiction treatment grants terminated. A new tool from the Drug Policy Alliance and Legal Action Center is tracking these cuts, their real-world impact on communities, and how the public can push back.

WHO: Global Harm Reduction Services Remain Underfunded and Outside Mainstream Health Systems

Despite being an evidence-based, rights-based, and cost-effective public health approach, harm reduction services — including needle and syringe programs, opioid agonist treatment, and naloxone distribution — remain fragmented and underfunded globally. A new WHO operational guide for needle and syringe programs calls for a shift toward sustainable national systems grounded in political commitment, domestic financing, and community leadership.

BROOKINGS: Progress on Overdose Deaths Now Under Threat from Federal Funding Cuts

After years of hard-won progress — including a 27% drop in overdose deaths in 2024 — public health experts warn that sweeping federal funding cuts to SAMHSA, NIH, and CDC programs are putting those gains at serious risk. Brookings researchers argue that retreating from proven harm reduction approaches, including syringe services and naloxone distribution, will reverse the downward trend in overdose deaths.

Johns Hopkins: In a Volatile Drug Supply, People Who Use Drugs Are Taking Harm Reduction Into Their Own Hands

A new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study finds that people who inject drugs are acutely aware of the shifting, increasingly dangerous drug supply — and are developing their own cognitive and social strategies to reduce overdose risk. Researchers call for legalizing drug checking, investing in real-time supply surveillance, and removing structural barriers that block access to lifesaving harm reduction services.

Going Dutch: Harm Reduction Embraced in the Netherlands but Struggles in the U.S.

In the Netherlands, harm reduction—including safe consumption rooms, drug-checking, and syringe exchanges—is integrated into health & social care with government funding and police cooperation. In the U.S. Gulf South, such efforts face political resistance, stricter laws, limited funding, and legal barriers—yet grassroots groups try to keep life-saving practices alive.

State E-Cigarette Flavor Restrictions and Tobacco Product Use in Youths and Adults

A new JAMA study finds statewide flavor bans reduce e-cigarette use in some groups but also lead to unintended increases in cigarette smoking, especially among youths and young adults.

Federal Funding Restrictions Threaten San Diego’s Harm Reduction Programs

San Diego’s street health outreach—wound care, naloxone distribution, fentanyl/xylazine test strips, clean syringes—has helped reduce overdoses and saved lives. An executive order now limits how federal funds via SAMHSA can be used for these tools, putting years of harm reduction progress at risk, especially among people who are homeless or using drugs.

Why the Nicotine Myth Might Be the Most Lethal Public Health Lie

Nearly half of doctors wrongly believe nicotine causes cancer — a misconception that blocks smokers from switching to safer alternatives and costs lives.

New Policy Analysis: Harm Reduction

University of Tennessee’s SMART Policy Network explains that harm reduction is not about condoning drug use, but about reducing its worst harms by meeting people where they are—through tools like naloxone access, syringe service programs, and Good Samaritan laws. Tennessee already has several of these policies in place, which have helped increase overdose survivability, reduce infectious disease transmission, and boost entry into long-term recovery.

In Sweden, Smokeless Products Drive Tobacco Harm Reduction Push

With deep cultural roots in snus and now nicotine pouches, Sweden offers a model for reducing smoking-related deaths — but skepticism and regulatory hurdles remain.

MSNBC: Why the FDA is right about Zyn

This is the FDA doing its job exactly as required by the 2009 Tobacco Control Act.

FDA: FDA Authorizes Marketing of 20 ZYN Nicotine Pouch Products after Extensive Scientific Review

To receive marketing authorizations, the FDA must have sufficient evidence that the new products offer greater benefits to population health than risks,” said Matthew Farrelly, Ph.D., director of the Office of Science in the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. 

BROOKINGS: Harm reduction and its role in improving health outcomes in an era of fentanyl

Reducing harm is a core element of public health and is intertwined with another fundamental tenet of public health—health promotion. 

THE NEW YORKER: Zyn and the New Nicotine Gold Rush: White snus pouches were designed to help Swedish women quit cigarettes. They’ve become a staple for American dudes.

“In November, 2024, Sweden was declared “smoke-free” because its adult smoking rate had dipped below five per cent. As smoking has declined, so have related illnesses, such as emphysema; Sweden has one of the lowest rates of lung cancer in the E.U. This shift is broadly described in academic papers as “the Swedish Experience.”

ACLU: Failed War on Drugs Policies Won't Stop the Overdose Crisis, But Harm Reduction Can Save Lives

Research shows extensive benefits from syringe exchange and other harm reduction programs. But misguided efforts to ban common sense care continue.

BALTIMORE BEAT: As Baltimore battles overdose crisis and hosts East Coast’s largest addiction conference, harm reduction practices shine

In recent years, a growing consensus has formed at the epicenter of the nation’s overdose crisis that harm reduction, and not punitive drug policy or forced abstinence, will be crucial to save lives.

NEWS MEDICAL: Tackling the Dual Epidemics of HIV and Addiction

Case studies from countries such as Portugal and Australia demonstrate the success of holistic, community-based approaches, serving as examples of the benefits of policy implementations aimed at mitigating stigma and discrimination at the national level.

PRESS RELEASE: New Statewide Coalition Launches to Advance Harm Reduction and Protect Public Health in California

SACRAMENTO, CA — Today marks the official launch of the California Harm Reduction Coalition (CHRC), a new statewide alliance dedicated to advancing evidence-based policies that reduce the harm caused by combustible tobacco use while preserving consumer choice and protecting vulnerable communities.