Becky Freeman

Vaping has slowed progress in cutting teen smoking in NZ – new study More teenagers are now smoking regularly than if pre-vaping smoking trends had continued, widening inequities for Māori and Pacific youth.

New analysis: Progress in reducing regular smoking among Māori, Pacific and European teens slowed after the emergence of vaping in Aotearoa. The added harm is more serious for Māori and Pacific youth, who have higher rates of smoking and vaping than their peers theconversation.com/vaping-has-s...

they just slapped a surgeons general warning on RFK like he’s a pack of cigarettes

Image of man breaking cigarette with words "Policy incoherence: Leadership needed to combat illicit tobacco and end tobacco oversupply" "Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health"

🚭 Leadership is needed to tackle illicit tobacco in Australia.

A new commentary argues:
- Tobacco market is over-supplied & under-regulated
- Cutting excise isn’t the answer
- Stronger licensing & caps on retailers needed

Read 👉 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

75 years...and yet we still allow this industry to operate

Tuesday marks 75 years since the historic September 30, 1950 Doll & Hill BMJ paper confirming smoking as a cause of lung cancer. For 75 years tobacco companies have been selling and promoting products they know are lethal when used as intended.

www.bmj.com/content/2/46...

No need for science when pregnancy is your political football

Casey Costello breached rules by giving tobacco industry-friendly document to health officials But the inquiry has still not revealed who wrote the 'mystery document', which claimed nicotine was no more harmful than caffeine.

Gobsmacking when this advice had such huge influence "Neither the Associate Minister nor the Minister's office staff had been able to confirm who had written tobacco policy notes that were held in the Minister's office in paper form and used for ministerial purposes,"
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Critics of the tobacco excise argue the tax has stopped working to further reduce smoking rates and should be lowered.

👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/could-m...

From smuggling to spin: how tobacco giants hijacked the illicit trade debate - ASH Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is a campaigning public health charity that works to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco.

Insightful read. Aligns with World Bank view that tobacco tax rates have a smaller impact on the illicit tobacco market than effective enforcement, regulation, and supply chain controls. Exactly what we're calling for in Australia to combat illicit @ashorguk.bsky.social

ash.org.uk/media-centre...

JOINT STATEMENT CALLING FOR SECRETARY KENNEDY RESIGNATION Infectious Diseases Society of America  American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology American Academy of HIV Medicine  American Association of Immunologists American Public Health Association American Society for Microbiology American Society for Virology Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC)  AVAC   Camenzind Solutions LLC  Fast-Track Cities Institute  ID Care International Association of Providers of AIDS Care  NTM Info & Research  Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society   Peggy Lillis Foundation Seattle Children’s Research Institute Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) Stop TB USA  Treatment Action Group 

New statement: IDSA, APHA and partners call for RFK Jr. to resign: "Our country needs leadership that will promote open, honest dialogue — not disregard decades of lifesaving science, spread misinformation, reverse medical progress and decimate programs that keep us safe." bit.ly/3JOgDya

Opinion | We Ran the C.D.C.: Kennedy Is Endangering Every American’s Health

An extraordinary joint op-ed and plea by NINE former directors or acting directors of the CDC under both Democratic and Republican administrations, succinctly describing undermining of public health, and what’s needed now.
(gift link)

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...

Social media age verification possible but laden with risks, study warns The study, which will inform the government's impending social media ban for under-16s, found several methods were viable, but no method was foolproof, with concerns over both accuracy and privacy.

So, the technical report on Age Assurance (nee Verification) basically says no single tool works well enough to be relied on, and all the concerns about inaccuracy, bias and privacy flagged before the report all remain. 🙄

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

We can’t be complacent here - time for some action to keep our community safe

Vape brands bypass regulations on marketing to young people by using global social media accounts Vape manufacturers mirror traditional tobacco marketing, including stylish branding, flavours and sponsorships, to reach young people through social media.

Vape brands bypass regulations on marketing to young people by using global social media accounts
theconversation.com/vape-brands-...

🔔 This week in InSight+

Australia’s progress in reducing adolescent smoking has slowed — vaping may be why

buff.ly/pEqUuQ5

@drbfreeman.bsky.social
@martinmckee.bsky.social
@simonchapman.bsky.social

News - Suite of tough new illegal tobacco measures unveiled The NSW Government will introduce tough new laws to crackdown on the sale of illicit tobacco and illegal vaping goods across the state.

Excellent news - very pleased to see this action on illicit tobacco from the NSW government www.health.nsw.gov.au/news/Pages/2...

Australia’s progress in reducing adolescent smoking has slowed — vaping may be why - InSight+ In October last year, we published findings from our retrospective cohort analysis of data from the Generation Vape study in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, accompanied by an ...

What happened to teen smoking rates in Australia as vaping emerged? New analysis out today insightplus.mja.com.au/2025/29/aust...

Eviction, jail and $1.5 million fines for illegal tobacco sellers Landlords would be given the power to evict tenants caught selling illegal cigarettes in a plan to fight the thriving tobacco black market.

Very welcome news. I’m very encouraged to see cross party support to seriously tackle illicit tobacco use in NSW www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw...

🧵1/8
Sam Egger and I raise serious concerns about a recent systematic review in Addiction, which suggests that e-cigarettes don’t lead to youth smoking. We argue the review's risk of bias (ROB) assessments are so deeply flawed that it can’t be relied on. 👇

Australia’s new lung cancer screening program has chosen simplicity over equity, and we’re concerned

Australia’s new lung cancer screen program further disadvantages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who are already at increased risk of lung cancer.

A qualitative study of how young women in a rural Canadian community plan their futures Abstract. Education and employment are well-acknowledged social determinants of health. However, little is known about how young women in rural, resource-d

Beautifully written paper on how young women in a rural Alberta community 🇨🇦 navigated planning for their future. I’m from a similar area and I was really struck by how alike my experience was…way back in the 90’s academic.oup.com/heapro/artic...

I can see seven smokes shops from my bus stop - governments must act Although Australia is a world leader in smoking cessation, we’ve done very little to control how and where tobacco is sold. These shops are everywhere.

My long time colleague @drbfreeman.bsky.social plain speaking on the NSW tobacco retail license starting today. www.smh.com.au/national/i-c... All the illegal retailers already break the law. Many will figure so what? Unless they are inspected & handed massive fines.

Health Promotion International | Oxford Academic Publishes papers on major themes and innovations in the health promotion field. The journal publishes contributions from sectors beyond health, and seeks to promote theoretical, methodological, and ac...

I’m delighted that we have seen an increase in the 2024 CiteScore / rankings for @healthpromint.bsky.social !

Our CiteScore is up to 5.0 & we have risen 7 places in Health (Social Science) & 14 places in Public Health rankings. 👏👏👏

Huge thanks to the editorial team!

academic.oup.com/heapro

@jdkite.bsky.social of interest to you

a close up of a man 's face with the words mission impossible on the bottom right Alt: a close up of a man 's face with the words mission impossible on the bottom right

Agreed to review a paper and noticed this request in the email instructions: "Please destroy the manuscript when you have completed your review." A real missed opportunity here for some Mission Impossible style tech to protect academic peer review confidentiality

South Australia is busting illegal tobacco traders big time. What’s stopping the rest of the country? Labor’s stunning election victory and the relegation of the conservative opposition to likely years of political eunuch status opens up many opportunities across all areas of government. With healt…

@chrisminnsmp.bsky.social has today blamed high federal excise for burgeoning illegal tobacco sales. Simple arithmetic shows that ALL tobacco tax would need to be axed to make legal cigs competitive with illicits -- see simonchapman6.com/2025/05/26/s... Enforcement (like SAust) is how

Australia news live: PM again pushes back at US demand for more defence spending; Minns says tobacco tax hike boosted organised crime Follow live

Tobacco taxes aren’t the problem; the slow implementation of enforcement infrastructure is preventing authorities from cracking down on illicit sales in NSW. Adoption of a licensing scheme with powerful enforcement options, such as loss of license is overdue www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

75 years this week since evidence confirming that smoking is lethal with Wynder & Graham’s landmark May 27, 1950 JAMA paper “Tobacco smoking as a possible etiologic factor in bronchiogenic carcinoma” then Doll & Hill’s historic September 30, 1950 BMJ “Smoking and carcinoma of the lung”.

Awesome opportunity 👍🏻