James K. Glassman served as US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs during the George W. Bush administration, leading the government-wide global strategic communications effort. He was also Chairman of the US Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees Voice of America and other government-sponsored TV, radio, and Internet broadcasting. He was confirmed unanimously by the US Senate for both positions and holds the lifetime rank of Ambassador. James K. Glassman serves as Chair of the Commission to Reignite the Fight Against Smoking. The commission and its staff w ..read more

Anupam Manur is an Assistant Professor at the Takshashila Institution. His research interests lie at the intersection of economics, technology, and public policy. He is currently working on platform economics, India’s ongoing jobs crisis, digital payments, and the New World Order. He has published several articles in the leading newspapers in India. He has also edited three books under the Takshashila Institution Press. Anupam teaches Economic Reasoning for Public Policy and Macroeconomics in all of Takshashila’s public policy programmes ..read more

A discussion between Dr Derek Yach, President of the Foundation, and Professor Mary Neuburger, Director of the Center for Russia, East European and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas, Austin. Mary is also the author of Balkan Smoke, a compelling book on tobacco and the making of modern Bulgaria. Derek and Mary discuss the deep-rooted history of tobacco dating back to the Ottoman coffee houses of the late 1800s, its effect on wartime culture and the post-war economic boom ..read more

Cother Hajat is a Fellow of both the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) and the Faculty of Public Health (FFPH) in the UK and adjunct Professor of Public Health at UAE University. Throughout her career she has focussed on the prevention of chronic disease and its risk factors through thought leadership, policy development, health system redesign and research in academic, commercial and governmental settings. Smoking cessation and tobacco control policy are amongst Cother’s main interests having worked on the ban of smoking in public places in both the UK and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Co ..read more

Our last podcast episode of the year recaps the 2020 show highlights. The topics covered include how COVID19 pandemic intertwined with smoking and the efforts to improve access to cessation and harm reduction. Our hope is that people see the role #harmreduction can play in ending the pandemic in 2021 and smoking, the world’s most preventable cause of death and disease ..read more

Bengt Wiberg is the former CFO that became the involuntary inventor of a greatly improved new pouch technology for any type of oral nicotine products. When his dentist told him to quit snus due to gum problems, Bengt wanted to find a solution that allowed him to enjoy tobacco without having to revert to smoking, (like many Swedes, he had moved to less harmful snus). Bengt’s idea was to place a barrier between the snus and his gum to reduce irritation. Through his work he found he was able to reduce the unpleasant “sting” that often prevents people from enjoying snus. He discovered that his inv ..read more

William’s inspiring story is told in his New York Times bestselling memoir The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, co-authored with Bryan Mealer, and in the Netflix film adaptation, directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, which was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the Sundance Film festival. Since its debut, William’s book has been published in two additional editions, a young readers version, and a children’s book. The autobiography has sold more than 1 million copies and been translated in nearly twenty languages worldwide. William has been featured on The Wall Street Journal, Nyasa Times, The Daily Show ..read more

Harry Shapiro is the director of DrugWise, an online drug information service, and managing editor of DS Daily, an online drug, alcohol and tobacco news service. He has worked in the drug industry for 40 years, first with the Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence and then with DrugScope, where he was director of communications until the charity folded in 2015. He was DrugScope’s main media spokesperson, managing editor of Druglink magazine, and he has written and lectured extensively on all aspects of drugs and drug-related issues. Shapiro is a member of the U.K. Advisory Council on the M ..read more

Dr. Cummings is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and member of the Hollings Cancer Center’s Cancer Control Program at the Medical University of South Carolina where he co-leads the tobacco control research program. He is widely recognized for his research on smoking behavior, product marketing, consumer risk perceptions, and the influence of cigarette design on smoking behavior. Dr. Cummings has authored over 500 peer-reviewed scientific papers as well as contributing to reports for the Office of the Surgeon General, the National Cancer Institute, the Insti ..read more

Founder and president of the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF) launched in 2008, Elise Rasmussen is the executive director of the GTNF Trust. The Trust was established in 2019 and embodies the influential Vapor Voice and Tobacco Reporter magazines, as well as the GTNF. Elise is co-founder and chairwoman of Women In Tobacco, an association for women working for or connected with the tobacco and nicotine industries. She was recently promoted to Third Warden of the Worshipful Company of Tobacco Pipe Makers and Tobacco Blenders, one of the City of London’s historic livery companies; only th ..read more