Students for Sensible Drug Policy Hosts “Rethinking Nicotine” Conference Bridging Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) and the Harm Reduction Movement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Media Contact:

Gina Giorgio 

Director of Strategy and Development

Students for Sensible Drug Policy

gina@ssdp.org

Rethinking Nicotine: Science, Harm Reduction, and Sensible Policyis a one-day conference hosted by Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) in Pittsburgh that challenges the extension of the War on Drugs into nicotine policy. Students attend for free.Livestream access available worldwide. 

Pittsburgh, PA —  March 17, 2026 Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) will host Rethinking Nicotine: Science, Harm Reduction, and Sensible Policy on March 17, 2026, bringing together researchers, advocates, policymakers, and students to explore the science of nicotine and build stronger connections between the tobacco harm reduction (THR) field and the broader harm reduction movement.

The conference will take place at the Community College of Allegheny County’s Foerster Student Services Center from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM ET and will be followed by a networking happy hour from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM ET at Federal Galley, a local food hall and beer garden. Students can register for free, and a livestream will be available to participants around the world.

A central goal of the event is to bridge conversations that have often occurred in parallel: those focused on reducing harms associated with tobacco use and those focused on reducing harms associated with drugs more broadly. SSDP organizers hope the gathering will foster collaboration between communities working toward evidence-based public health approaches grounded in compassion, autonomy, and human rights.

“Too often, nicotine policy repeats the same mistakes we’ve seen in the War on Drugs—relying on prohibition, stigma, and misinformation instead of evidence,” said SSDP Executive Director Kat Murti, who will emcee the event. “If we want to reduce harm and protect public health, we need honest conversations about relative risk, access to safer alternatives, and policies grounded in science rather than fear.”

Panels will examine the parallels between nicotine prohibition efforts and historic drug war policies, the role of harm reduction in supporting people who use nicotine, and how advocates from both movements can collaborate to advance pragmatic public health solutions.

“At their core, both tobacco harm reduction and traditional harm reduction share the same values: meeting people where they are and reducing harm rather than punishing behavior,” Murti added. “This conference is about bringing those communities together, sharing knowledge, and building a stronger movement for evidence-based policy.”

Conference Schedule

Welcome and Setting the Stage

SSDP Executive Director Kat Murti explains why Rethinking Nicotine matters

Nicotine as the New War on Drugs

For decades, the War on Drugs has relied on fear, stigma, and criminalization rather than evidence. Today, that same logic is increasingly applied to nicotine. This panel examines how moral panic, misinformation about relative risk, and abstinence-only
frameworks are shaping policy in ways that ignore lived experience and undermine public health.

Drawing from grassroots organizing, peer support spaces, and decades of tobacco policy leadership, speakers will explore how stigma distorts science, how prohibitionist reflexes fuel unintended consequences, and why dignity and autonomy must be central to nicotine harm reduction. From defeating punitive campus policies to challenging long-held misconceptions about nicotine itself, this session asks a fundamental question: will we repeat the mistakes of the drug war — or finally choose evidence over fear?

● Cliff Douglas – Veteran Advocate for Public Health and Ending the Smoking Epidemic
● Julia Hilbert – Vice Chair, SSDP and Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Coordinator, Prevention Point Pittsburgh
● Skip Murray – Tobacco Treatment Specialist and Freelance Writer

Science, Public Health & Risk: What the Evidence Actually Shows

Science, Public Health & Risk: What the Evidence Actually Shows Misinformation about nicotine risk continues to shape public opinion and public policy. This panel critically examines the science behind claims of “gateway” effects, exaggerated health harms, and population-level risk trends. Speakers will unpack common methodological flaws in nicotine research, explore how  misinterpretations travel from academic journals to media headlines, and discuss the real-world consequences of conflating nicotine with combustible tobacco.

The session will also highlight how harm reduction is (or is not) integrated into clinical settings, syringe service programs, and recovery spaces — particularly for people who use drugs and face disproportionate tobacco-related harm. 

Evidence matters. When science is misrepresented, policy suffers — and so do the people it is supposed to protect.

● Floe Foxon – Scientist and Data Analyst, Pinney Associates, Inc.
● Jacob James Rich – Policy Analyst, Reason Foundation
● Arielle Selya – Senior Scientist, Pinney Associates, Inc.

Failures of Prohibition: Countries as Case Studies

Around the world, governments are repeating a familiar pattern: restrict safer nicotine products, ignore consumer demand, and watch illicit markets flourish. This panel examines the political economy of vape bans and overregulation through case studies from the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, and the United States.

Speakers will analyze how moral panic, bureaucratic incentives, and regulatory bottlenecks have reversed harm reduction progress and expanded counterfeit markets. From the UK’s shift away from its former leadership in tobacco harm reduction to Mexico’s constitutional battles over vape prohibition to the FDA’s failure to approve the harm reduction products that consumers actually want, these stories demonstrate a consistent lesson: prohibition does not eliminate use — it simply reshapes risk.

● Reem Ibrahim – Research Fellow, Policy and Media, Reason
● Sofia Hamilton – Senior Health Policy Analyst, Americans for Prosperity
● Jorge Valderrábano – SSDP Ambassador and CEO, Ágora
● Tim Andrews – Director of Consumer Issues at Americans for Tax Reform

Tobacco Harm Reduction is Harm Reduction

This panel examines how tobacco harm reduction (THR) is — and is not — being implemented within harm reduction spaces. Drawing on qualitative research from Syringe Service Programs (SSPs), Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs), and Outpatient Treatment Programs (OTPs), speakers will highlight the near absence of structured THR services in many harm reduction settings, the limited but emerging models in clinical programs, and the structural barriers that prevent integration, while spotlighting new developments and promising innovations, and laying the foundations for holistic, client-centered models that respect autonomy, acknowledge the continuum of risk, and meet people where they are.

• Julia Hilbert – Vice Chair, SSDP and Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Coordinator, Prevention Point Pittsburgh
• Austen Markus – SSDP Ambassador and Research Coordinator, University of Pittsburgh
• Gaby Zabala Alemán – Tobacco Harm Reduction Education & Engagement Project Manager, National Harm Reduction Coalition

Grassroots & Legislative Strategies for Sensible Nicotine Policy

Policy change does not begin in federal agencies — it begins in communities. This panel brings together advocates working at the federal, state, and grassroots levels to examine how
sensible nicotine policy is built, defended, and sustained. Speakers will address federal-level attacks on harm reduction infrastructure, state legislative trends, and the critical role of consumer advocacy in shaping transparent, evidence-based regulation.

The conversation will focus on practical strategies: how to respond to rollbacks, how to engage lawmakers effectively, and how informed constituents can shift policy conversations away from prohibition and toward public health outcomes. At its core, harm reduction depends not only on science, but on organized, empowered communities willing to demand better policy.

● Daniel Fishbein – Policy Manager, Office of Federal Affairs Drug Policy Alliance
● Lindsey Stroud – Founder and President, Tobacco Harm Reduction 101
● Maria Papaioannoy – Founder and Spokesperson, Rights4Vapers (R4V)

Tech Tools & Education: Modernizing Harm Reduction

This panel explores how technology, education, and community-driven
tools can expand access to accurate information and reduce risk in real time. From app-based nicotine harm reduction education to technology-enhanced early warning systems that detect changes in supply and communicate risk quickly, speakers will demonstrate how innovation can support autonomy without defaulting to criminalization. Grounded in trauma-responsive,
community-centered practice, this session highlights how education empowers individuals to make informed choices — and how digital tools can strengthen, not replace, human connection.

● Tim Andrews – Director of Consumer Issues at Americans for Tax Reform and creator of prohibitiondoesnotwork.com
● Skip Murray – Tobacco Treatment Specialist and Freelance Writer
● Merryn Spence – Drug Education Program Coordinator, SSDP
● Tonja Catron – Executive Director, The SOAR Initiative

The conference reflects SSDP’s broader mission of empowering individuals to replace punitive drug policies with approaches rooted in evidence, compassion, and human rights. 

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With chapters on campuses and in communities across the country,  Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) is the world’s largest youth-led grassroots network advocating for just, evidence-based drug policies. SSDP empowers young people to challenge punitive drug laws and advance policies rooted in evidence, compassion, and human rights.
For more information, please visit: https://ssdp.org.