IN THE NEWS
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
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
The Scientific Foundation for Tobacco Harm Reduction
"Compiled by leading experts in the field, this report makes the case for harm reduction strategies to protect smokers. It demonstrates that smokers smoke predominantly for nicotine, that nicotine itself is not especially hazardous, and that if nicotine could be provided in a form that is acceptable and effective as a cigarette substitute, millions of lives could be saved." – Royal College of Physicians
