The UK government’s smokefree generation policy announced in October 2023 plans to stop the sale of tobacco products to anyone born in 2009 or later by raising the smoking age by one year each year. New research from University College London supports this tobacco endgame policy and in particular the choice to include all tobacco products within the scope of the generational ban, not just cigarettes. Other tobacco products include cigars, cigarillos, pipe tobacco, waterpipe tobacco products (for example shisha), chewing tobacco, heated tobacco, nasal tobacco (snuff) and herbal smoking products ..read more

Written by Dr Sophie Braznell, Research Co-ordinator in the Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath The risks of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are fiercely debated. Nonetheless, it is clear e-cigarettes are not without risk, especially for children and young adults. In addition to nicotine addiction and adverse effects on oral, respiratory and cardiovascular health, youths who vape are at risk of harming their brain’s development and poor mental health including depression and suicidality. Despite this, increasing numbers of them are using e-cigarettes. So, the question ..read more

You will probably have heard of the Climate Change COP, an annual meeting of the signatories to the parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. But have you heard of the Tobacco Control COP?   What is the Tobacco Control COP? The Conference of the Parties (COP) is a biennial meeting of the Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). The WHO FCTC was developed to protect public health from the tobacco epidemic in a cooperative and global manner. The conference will take place between 5 - 10 February. It is an opport ..read more

The new year is a good time to look forward to the next 12 months. So let’s dig into what we expect to happen in the world of tobacco control in 2024.   Steps forward in tobacco control policy The announcement of the UK government’s proposed Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which contains a measure to restrict the sale of tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, was one of the biggest moments within tobacco control in 2023. The public consultation stage has now closed with roughly 25,000 responses from both members of the public (e.g. teachers, parents, healthcare professionals ..read more

More than 100 people attended the launch of our new documentary Tobacco Slave at the M-Shed in Bristol. The 30-minute documentary explores the neo-colonial links between tobacco farming and tobacco multinationals. It features interviews with farmers in Malawi, Kenyan tobacco experts and historians and community representatives from Bristol. Cllr Asher Craig, Deputy Mayor of Bristol and Cabinet member with responsibility for Children's Services, Education and Equalities, kicked off the screening by explaining that she found the film triggering but really important. In Asher’s words: "The film ..read more

Written by Adam Bertscher, PhD candidate in the Tobacco Control Rsearch Group During my final PhD year, I took part in a four-month internship with the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee (PACAC). It was an eye-opening experience and gave me invaluable insights into the inner workings of the most central democratic institution where policy is crafted and shaped. My internship aligned nicely with my PhD research, which I am doing as part of the University of Bath’s Tobacco Control Research Group (TCRG). Using systems thinking, my research aims to u ..read more

Members of the Tobacco Control Research Group (TCRG) from the University of Bath joined some 2,000 journalists from across the world at the recent Global Investigative Journalism Conference. Organised by the Global Investigative Journalism Network, it brings together a huge range of people looking at topics from war crimes to smuggling, corruption to corporate misbehaviour. Across three days there were practical sessions on skills such as following laundered money trails, tracking planes and ships as well as how to tell stories differently and collect data in new and innovative ways that journ ..read more

Colourful, shiny, grabbable single-use vapes are designed as a ‘quick-fix’. But did you know that e-cigarettes introduce plastic, nicotine salts, heavy metals, lead, mercury, and flammable lithium ion batteries into waterways, soil, and to wildlife? In this piece for World Environment Day 2023, Marzia Violini considers the consequences of our throwaway culture.   Single-use e-cigarettes are the latest way to fulfil our ever-growing demand for instant gratification and a perfect example of ‘throwaway culture’. The moment the battery light flashes red, these products are discarded and forgo ..read more

With tobacco killing one in two of its users, it’s little wonder that a major focus for tobacco control advocacy is on health. But while tobacco products appear near the end of a long and complex supply chain, its harms start at the very beginning, with tobacco leaf farming.   About tobacco farming Tobacco is grown in over 124 countries across the world, with production increasingly shifting to low- and middle-income countries. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), from 2005 to 2020, the area under tobacco cultivation decreased globally by 15.8%, while in Africa it i ..read more

When we think about tobacco products, we tend to think of cigarette brands or the large companies behind them, but there is a whole network of independent companies who also contribute to producing the deadly products that secure the profits of Big Tobacco. In this piece, Fred Dunwoodie Stirton of the Tobacco Control Research Group unpicks the complex nature of the tobacco supply chain. Understanding the tobacco supply chain Last year the Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath launched the tobacco supply chain database. This unique resource was devised and created by a team o ..read more