| | Spring has arrived in the UK, you can tell from the invigoratingly biting wind and delightful sleet; to celebrate, we would like to announce that the Global Forum on Nicotine conference programme is now live! It will be continually updated as we announce new speakers and is the best place to keep track of the GFN26 lineup. |
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Join us on Thursday 4 June 2026, at 09:30, in the main auditorium, for the keynote session, titled ‘The Impact of Prohibition on Health and Ethics’. |
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The keynote will be hosted by Dr Garrett McGovern. Professor Jean-François Etter and Dr Arielle Selya will join Dr McGovern as speakers for the keynote presentation: |
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Professor Jean-François Etter |
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Professor Etter is a Swiss public health expert and researcher known for his work on tobacco control and smoking cessation. He holds master's degrees in political science and public health, and a doctorate in political science. |
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An honorary professor at the University of Geneva, he has conducted research for over 30 years on smoking prevention and cessation, nicotine addiction, and the impact of various public health policies on smoking behaviour. |
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His studies often focus on harm reduction strategies, particularly in relation to e-cigarettes and other nicotine and tobacco products. His work has contributed to the understanding of smoking behaviour and to the development of effective tobacco control policies. |
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Dr Arielle Selya is a behavioural science consultant specializing in tobacco harm reduction. Through her primary role as Senior Scientist at PinneyAssociates, Inc., she supports Juul Labs, Inc. in their scientific and regulatory efforts through behavioural study protocols, statistical methodology, and scientific publishing strategy and execution. |
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Dr Selya is also a consultant to the Centre of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction (CoEHAR) on e-cigarette use behavioural research and critical analysis of scientific literature. |
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She received her PhD in Neuroscience at Rutgers University and, prior to becoming a consultant, spent a decade in academia studying adolescent substance use and addiction. |
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In addition to being a prolific contributor to the scientific literature, with over 70 scientific publications to her name, Dr. Selya is also actively engaged in both post-publication critiques of published research and in communicating scientific findings to broader audiences via her Substack. |
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Dr McGovern is a highly respected and ardent advocate of ready access to safer nicotine products as an alternative to smoking. |
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Dr McGovern qualified in Medicine in 1995 from Trinity College Dublin and has worked as a GP specialising in the treatment of substance misuse since the implementation of the methadone treatment protocol in 1998. He is Medical Director of the Priority Medical Clinic; a private addiction treatment programme located in South County Dublin. He is Clinical Lead for the HSE Addiction Services in Louth Meath & The Midlands. He was appointed to the Health Committee of the Irish Medical Council in June 2025. |
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Dr McGovern is also a member of the Irish Chapter of the New Nicotine Alliance. He is one of the first members of the International Doctors for Healthy Drug Policies (IDHDP), an international group of medical addiction experts aiming to promote sensible drug policies. |
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Speaking on the keynote, ‘The Impact of Prohibition on Health and Ethics’, Dr McGovern said: “Prohibition is prohibition, but I never believed that the war on drugs would ever become a war on nicotine/safer alternatives. |
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“It's incomprehensible and Governments across the planet are being misled by people (medics, public health etc) who should know better; people who know full well the disease and death burden associated with combustibles (but probably know equally well the absence of disease and death that comes with safer alternatives). Yet, they will make things up about vaping. It's almost as if they WANT vaping to be harmful to health. It's bewildering” |
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In addition, Professor Etter will share his opinions on how we should treat people. |
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He says: “Shouldn't we be allowing people to make informed judgements about their behaviour and their health? |
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“How does prohibition of safer alternatives square with the Hippocratic oath? How about the concept of being open minded, as opposed to 'we don't like these, so let's ban them'? |
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“What are the ethics of accepting smokers' lives and wellbeing as collateral damage, in pursuit of the war on the nicotine industries? Why is giving alternatives to people who misuse substances viewed differently to permitting people who smoke access to less harmful alternatives?" |
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Introducing our first GFN26 media partner Planet of the Vapes! |
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Planet of the Vapes joins us once again in Warsaw for GFN26. The site has been covering the latest news and cutting-edge developments in safer nicotine products since 2010 – broken down to educate and inform the consumers of vapes and other reduced harm nicotine products. Planet of the Vapes also runs a vibrant online forum for the vaping community. |
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The GFN26 accommodation discount deadline is approaching |
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The Global Forum on Nicotine takes place from 3 - 5 June 2026 at The Warsaw Presidential Hotel (former Warsaw Marriott Hotel), al. Jerozolimskie 65/79, 00-697 Warsaw, Poland. |
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Discounted accommodation rates at the conference venue are available until May 4, 2026. |
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The special rate applies to a stay of any duration between Monday, June 1, and Sunday, June 7, 2026. |
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Okey-dokey! That’s all for today – let’s all go enjoy this delightful weather until next week’s newsletter drops with more exciting news!
The GFN26 Team |
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