China’s tobacco tax debate is moving from whether to raise prices to how the tax system should be designed. At a Beijing forum on World No Tobacco Day, experts discussed higher specific excise taxes, minimum tax burdens and dynamic adjustments linked to income and inflation. The issue also connects to China’s broader consumption tax reform, health financing and chronic disease costs. Public reports did not mention e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, nicotine pouches or other new nicotine products.

A smoke-free nicotine policy report argues that tobacco harm reduction should move beyond product bans and health warnings into tax policy, insurance pricing and risk-based regulation. While some projections remain open to debate, the report highlights a wider challenge: nicotine products, technologies and consumer behavior have changed sharply over the past decade, and regulatory systems may need new tools to better align tobacco control with harm-reduction goals.

In this contributed article to 2Firsts, Mumbai-based journalist and harm reduction advocate Samrat Chowdhery examines India’s tobacco transition from the perspective of agriculture, supply chains and regulation. As noted by 2Firsts, India offers a relevant case for understanding how new nicotine technologies may affect not only consumption, trade and policy, but also tobacco farming.

Data shows 75% of nations with state stakes in tobacco trade ban modern substitutes compared to 10% in the free-market group. What is driving these divergent regulations?

Two global tobacco harm reduction experts, in their submission to 2Firsts, argue that several COP11 policy proposals driven by high-income countries do not align with the capacities and conditions of low- and middle-income countries. They highlight research and funding gaps and call for a more equitable global support mechanism.

As global delegates prepare for COP11, a leaked EU position paper has sparked fresh debate over the future of nicotine pouch regulation. In an exclusive op-ed submitted to 2Firsts, Dr. Nveed Chaudhary, Chair of GINN’s Scientific Committee, argues that banning nicotine pouches would be a profound public health mistake—one that ignores harm reduction science and risks reversing global progress in smoking cessation.

This opinion piece, submitted by Samrat Chowdhery to 2Firsts, challenges the logic of tobacco price elasticity. It argues that high taxes often harm vulnerable populations and fuel illicit markets rather than reducing smoking.

Alan Zhao, CEO of 2Firsts, calls on the global tobacco harm reduction community to “emancipate the mind and seek truth from facts,” rebuild scientific consensus, and drive high-quality development.

Five years after India’s vape ban, illicit sales are booming and smokers are denied safer alternatives. In this exclusive piece for 2Firsts, AVI Director Samrat Chowdhery explores the policy’s unintended consequences and calls for regulatory reform.

The Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GNTF) opened in Seoul, South Korea, focusing on consumer-centric discussions and industry regulations.