Welcome

The 3rd E-Cigarette Summit USA will take place on Monday 29 April 2019 at The Marriott Georgetown in Washington. The Summit program is now live here – additional speakers and session details will be confirmed within the next few days.

Registration for this event is now open, and the early bird rate is in operation until Friday 5th April – to register at the early bird rate please click here.

The Summit will be Chaired by Professor Thomas Glynn, Stanford University School of Medicine and the opening address will be delivered by Steven A. Schroeder MD, Distinguished Professor of Health and Healthcare at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), where he also directs the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center.

Since the inaugural US Summit in 2017 which welcomed over 300 attendees, the tobacco control and policy landscape has continued to change. Following the FDA’s announcement of a “comprehensive plan on nicotine and tobacco” only three months after the first American Summit and then the National Academy of Sciences (NASEM) report on the “consequences of e-cigarettes on public health” in 2018, it appeared that Tobacco Harm Reduction and reduced risk products would be incorporated into US public health policy in a supportive manner. However, recent reports on rising youth use have alarmed both the general public and tobacco control/health policy experts and reignited the debate on novel nicotine products. With the surprise announcement of FDA Commissioner Gottlieb’s departure in early April, whose ambitious vision for sweeping tobacco/nicotine policy changes remains unfulfilled, the future of e-cigarettes in the US looks increasingly uncertain.

How these new developments can and should translate into legal and regulatory frameworks including how to handle the highly contentious issue of flavors, how to close the on-ramp to youth without also closing the off-ramp for adult smokers, how to educate youth without confusing adults smokers and whether and how to communicate to adult smokers about the harm continuum remain divisive issues.

This year’s E-Cigarette Summit USA therefore comes at a major US policy crossroads and looks to provide an evidence based environment that encourages open and respectful dialogue on the key science and current public health topics, with a single aim of reducing smoking related death and disease.

The E-Cigarette Summit will feature extensive discussion on the opportunity for comprehensive regulation, principally product regulation at the national level to minimize negative consequences and realize benefits. Presenters will discuss the difficulty of finding a “sweet spot” of regulation where public health is improved optimally by minimizing premature death and disease as rapidly as possible while protecting non-users and remaining responsive to a tobacco control manifesto.

The role that e-cigarettes could play in ending or extending the smoking epidemic is likely to remain one of the most fiercely fought debates in public health history. We cannot answer every question yet, but we believe that progress is not only possible but imperative. These first important steps to regulate an entirely novel product category will set the agenda for decades to come and is likely to be viewed as a pivotal era in both tobacco control and combustible tobacco use in the future.

What questions will be explored?

The E-Cigarette Summit includes high level briefings from experts and encourages interaction through panel debates and open floor discussions. Questions will be explored in a balanced and objective environment allowing attendees to build their knowledge and share their viewpoints.

What are the key considerations for prudent regulation of e-cigarettes?
How do we maximize benefits for smokers and minimize potential harms for youth?
Understanding youth use – how should data be interpreted and presented?
How do we educate youth without confusing adult smokers
How should the evidence on e-cigarettes and the harm continuum be communicated to the American public – how can we better help the public understand relative risks?
Is the current and proposed regulatory regime for e-cigarettes fit for purpose or does it need to be reformed and, if so, what needs to be considered to achieve maximum benefits for public health?
Are American youth experimenting with e-cigarettes more than other countries – what are the appropriate measures?
Is dual use an important step in cessation or a failing of harm reduction?
What direction should the FDA take with e-cigarettes and tobacco control – what are the main priorities for current smokers? And for preventing youth initiation? Are these two priorities compatible?
Current and future research priorities
Why has tobacco harm reduction proved to be such a divisive issue – how can we improve dialogue and collaboration?

Who Should Attend?

The E-Cigarette Summit will provide a timely and interactive opportunity for all stakeholders to debate and explore the future of e-cigarettes and the broader issues raised by nicotine without smoke, and will include high-level panel debates from opposing perspectives to ensure a balanced and objective debate.

In particular, this event will be relevant to:

Regulators and policy advisors
Health providers and public health advocates
National, state and local legislators and their staffs
Public health professionals
Scientific/research community
Medical and health professionals
e-cigarette industry stakeholders