Science
Nicotine as a wellness product? The smoking alternatives being pushed by big tobacco
Key Points
People “smoke for the nicotine, but they die from the tar,” said the late public health scientist Michael Russell. For centuries, most people have got their nicotine from combustible tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, and pipe tobacco. But tobacco also contains numerous harmful compounds, many of them carcinogenic, making smoking responsible for around seven million deaths a year worldwide.1Increased awareness of the harms has led to a historical low prevalence of smoking today...
People “smoke for the nicotine, but they die from the tar,” said the late public health scientist Michael Russell.For centuries, most people have got their nicotine from combustible tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, and pipe tobacco. But tobacco also contains numerous harmful compounds, many of them carcinogenic, making smoking responsible for around seven million deaths a year worldwide.1Increased awareness of the harms has led to a historical low prevalence of smoking today (10.6%).2 And the UK's Tobacco and Vapes Bill,3 passed in April 2026 and expected to fully come into effect in January 2027, aims to create a “smoke-free generation” by making it illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.The impact of the trends has not been lost on the tobacco industry. Vaping is constantly in the headlines; the non-profit organisation Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) estimates that in Great Britain around...