TobaccoReporter logo

Tag: Marina Murphy

  • Scientist reveals nail salons are worse than “second-hand vaping”

    Scientist reveals nail salons are worse than “second-hand vaping”

    Public confusion should not drive vape policy, says Dr Marina Murphy

    As the UK government considers extending smoke-free legislation to create new vape-free areas in England, experts are warning that vaping policy must be based on evidence—not public misunderstanding.

    Proposals to restrict vaping in areas such as playgrounds, school grounds and outside hospitals are intended to protect the public from second-hand exposure. However, the scientific evidence does not support treating vaping like smoking.

    Here, Dr. Marina Murphy, Director of Scientific Affairs at Northerner, sets out the current scientific understanding of “second-hand vaping” and highlights the need for policy to be based on evidence.

    Is there such a thing as second-hand vapour?

    While often described as “second-hand vapour,” passive exposure to vape aerosol is not comparable to second-hand smoke. Vapes do not contain tobacco, involve no combustion, and produce no side-stream smoke, which is the smoke produced when a cigarette is not being actively smoked, the primary source of harmful passive smoking exposure. 

    UK health authorities, including the NHS and Cancer Research UK, state there is no good evidence that passive vaping is harmful to bystanders.

    What do the public think about second-hand vaping?

    New research commissioned by Northerner highlights widespread public misunderstanding about vaping and health risks. The survey found that 43% of respondents believe exposure to vape aerosol is as harmful as exposure to cigarette smoke, despite this not being supported by the evidence. Only 32% correctly identified the statement as false, while 25% were unsure.

    Almost half (46%) also incorrectly believe vaping involves exposure to more chemicals than smoking. These findings suggest public perceptions are increasingly out of step with the evidence.

    Is secondhand vaping harmful?

    When we talk about public exposure, it’s important to keep the science in perspective. Exhaled vape aerosol generally raises PM₂.₅ levels only slightly above background levels, often in the 1–10 µg/m³ range, and contains no carbon monoxide because there is no combustion. To put this into perspective, many everyday environments generate far higher air-quality impacts:

    • Frying or gas cooking can produce particulate matter₂.₅ peaks above 500 µg/m³
    • Nail salons and beauty products can push particulate levels above 200 µg/m³
    • Urban roadside pollution often ranges 10–50 µg/m³

    Does vaping expose users to more chemicals than smoking?

    No. Cigarette smoke contains around 7,000 chemicals, many of them toxic or carcinogenic. Vape aerosol contains significantly fewer harmful substances and is widely recognised as substantially less harmful than smoking. Claims that vaping exposes users to more chemicals than cigarettes are simply false.

    Should vaping be banned outdoors?

    There is no clear evidence-based justification for broad outdoor vaping bans. Vaping is widely recognised as a lower-risk alternative to smoking and remains one of the most effective tools available to help adults quit cigarettes. Treating vaping like smoking risks sending the wrong message to smokers. If policymakers blur the distinction between the two, they risk reinforcing misinformation, discouraging switching, and undermining tobacco harm reduction. The evidence is clear: vaping is not smoking, and regulating it as though it were is neither scientific nor proportionate.

  • WHO’s Report on Nicotine Pouches Draws Industry Response

    WHO’s Report on Nicotine Pouches Draws Industry Response

    Today (May 15), the World Health Organization released its first global report on nicotine pouches, warning that rapid market growth and uneven regulation could increase youth exposure to nicotine. The report, issued ahead of World No Tobacco Day, says sales exceeded 23 billion units in 2024 and values the category at nearly $7 billion in 2025. WHO said, “nicotine itself is highly addictive and harmful,” and accused companies of using “widespread industry tactics” to appeal to younger audiences, and outlined policy options for governments, including limits on flavors and nicotine strength, age-verification requirements, advertising restrictions, and clearer labeling for the oral nicotine products.

    In response, Dr. Marina Murphy, senior director of scientific affairs at Haypp, said the report does not sufficiently distinguish between combustible tobacco and lower-risk nicotine formats. She pointed to regulatory approaches in the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Sweden as examples in which authorities have set product standards, age controls, and manufacturing requirements while allowing adult access. Murphy cited toxicological comparisons to nicotine replacement therapies and population data suggesting most pouch users are current or former smokers, arguing that regulatory frameworks can address youth concerns while preserving alternatives for adults.

    “The WHO should be leading a science-based strategy to end smoking. Instead, it remains ideologically opposed to the very products helping make that goal achievable,” Murphy said. “The lesson is straightforward. Countries that follow the evidence are accelerating the decline of smoking and reducing disease.

    “Those who treat all nicotine products as equally problematic risk protecting cigarettes from competition. The WHO should be helping governments distinguish between products that kill and products that can help people move away from smoking. Until the WHO embraces this reality, its reports will look increasingly detached from both the science and the real-world policy successes unfolding around it.”

  • Report: Misconceptions Hurting Alternative Nicotine Products

    Report: Misconceptions Hurting Alternative Nicotine Products

    A new report highlights growing public misperceptions about nicotine products, with 59% believing that vaping is as harmful to health as smoking, a number that increases to 72% among 18–24-year-olds. The “Nicotine Product Harm Perception Report 2026,” released by Northerner and Haypp, surveyed 2,000 people in the UK, with nearly half believing vaping exposes users to more chemicals than cigarettes, and 60% registering as misinformed or uninformed when comparing nicotine pouches’ harm to smoking.

    The findings point to a shift in risk perception that contrasts with established public health messaging on relative harm. The report links these beliefs to broader narratives around a perceived “vape epidemic,” with 78% of respondents agreeing such an epidemic exists despite vaping prevalence estimated at around 10% of adults. This disconnect suggests that public understanding may be shaped more by media framing and social discourse than by underlying usage data.

    The report also cites inconsistent policy approaches and negative coverage as contributing factors to mixed public messaging around vaping and harm reduction. Experts warn that confusion over relative risks could affect smoking behavior. Dr. Marina Murphy, the senior director of scientific affairs at Haypp Group, said misperceptions may reduce incentives for smokers to switch to alternatives, potentially slowing or reversing declines in smoking rates.

     “Alarmist messaging and negative framing risk doing real damage,” Murphy said. “If smokers are put off switching, we risk undoing years of progress in reducing smoking rates. People need clear, balanced information about nicotine products so they can make informed choices.” 

  • Study Claiming Vaping ‘Likely’ Causes Cancer Faces Backlash

    Study Claiming Vaping ‘Likely’ Causes Cancer Faces Backlash

    On March 30, Oxford’s Carcinogenesis magazine published an article titled, “The carcinogenicity of e-cigarettes: a qualitative risk assessment,” where the authors concluded that nicotine-based e-cigarettes are “likely to be carcinogenic” to users, potentially contributing to oral and lung cancer risk. The authors admitted that the actual risk in humans was uncertain, but said research found DNA damage, oxidative stress, inflammation, and epigenetic changes in oral and respiratory tissues linked to exposure to vape-derived chemicals such as nicotine-derived nitrosamines, volatile organic compounds, flavoring agents, and trace metals.

    The article received immediate criticism, beginning with Peter Hajek, professor of clinical psychology and director of the Health and Lifestyle Research Unit at Queen Mary University of London, who said, “The review’s conclusions are misleading. The authors specify early on that they are not comparing vapers and smokers. This allows them to present a detection of any level of a suspect chemical, however negligible, as ‘carcinogenic.’”

    The basis of the research focused on studies published between 2017 and 2025.

    “This is largely a qualitative review drawing heavily on low-quality studies, including in vitro [study of cells] and animal experiments using unrealistic exposure scenarios,” said Dr. Marina Murphy, senior director of scientific affairs for Haypp Group. “Such studies may demonstrate biological plausibility, but plausibility alone is a weak basis for public health alarm – especially when similar mechanisms are observed with everyday exposures such as cooking fumes, cleaning aerosols, and urban air pollution.

    “Studying cells can be useful, but limited in what can be deduced from them. If I were to pour coffee on cells in a lab, they would die. Should I conclude that coffee will kill me? The answer is obviously ‘no!’”

    John Dunne, the director general of the UK Vaping Industry Association, said the misinformation in the article does a disservice to the millions of people using vapes to quit smoking.  

    “The NHS, the Royal College of Physicians, and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, all agree that vaping – while not risk-free – is significantly less harmful than smoking,” Dunne said. “Cancer Research UK, the world’s largest independent cancer charity, maintains there is ‘no good evidence’ that vaping causes cancer. [The report] is exactly this kind of confusion that threatens the nation’s smoke-free future.”  

  • 20mg of Nicotine Per Pouch Optimal, Expert Says

    20mg of Nicotine Per Pouch Optimal, Expert Says

    Haypp’s senior director of scientific affairs, Dr. Marina Murphy, touts the benefits of nicotine pouches as an alternative to smoking, and recommends a maximum nicotine strength of 20mg per pouch to ensure these products serve as an effective harm-reduction tool. This recommendation comes as U.K. lawmakers continue to navigate progress toward a smoke-free future, with pouches growing in popularity. The 20mg dosage, Murphy says, provides an experience comparable to a cigarette, encouraging adult smokers to switch while avoiding the risks associated with ultra-strong products — some that reach 150mg per pouch.

    The 20mg limit aligns with Swedish and British industry standards and sets a clear, understandable benchmark for consumers and retailers, she says. Murphy says that by incorporating this limit into U.K. regulations, the government can make nicotine pouches a viable, safer alternative to cigarettes, balancing public health objectives with adult consumer choice, and supporting the country’s broader smoke-free goals.

  • Expert-Led Campaign Looking for Flawed Vape Science

    Expert-Led Campaign Looking for Flawed Vape Science

    The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) launched VapeVerify, an expert-led initiative aimed at scrutinizing vaping research amid rising public misperceptions about relative risk. The independent panel — comprising specialists in toxicology, public health, addiction medicine, and regulatory science — will assess new studies for methodological flaws, data misinterpretation, and lack of transparency, with the goal of ensuring policy debates and public understanding are guided by robust evidence. The move comes as surveys show record-high levels of misinformation, with around half of smokers believing vaping is as harmful as or more harmful than combustible cigarettes.

    “The VapeVerify panel wants to create an environment where people are armed with the facts so they can make informed decisions, because there is no public health without public knowledge,” said panellist Dr. Marina Murphy, senior director of scientific affairs at Haypp Group, who specializes in chemistry and science communications.

    The campaign launches alongside VapeWatch, a media monitoring initiative designed to challenge inaccurate or alarmist reporting on vaping and refer misleading coverage to the Independent Press Standards Organization. UKVIA Director General John Dunne said the industry is at a “crossroads,” arguing that public perception will determine whether vaping fulfils its harm reduction potential. Organizers said the expert panel members are unpaid volunteers and that the twin initiatives aim to counter what they describe as flawed science and misinformation deterring adult smokers from switching.

  • Haypp Releases New Guidance on Nicotine Pouches

    Haypp Releases New Guidance on Nicotine Pouches

    Online nicotine retailer Haypp has voluntarily adopted a 20 mg per pouch cap across its e-commerce platforms and is urging the UK government to formalize that as the limit as it develops a regulatory framework under its Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The company, which serves more than 1.1 million customers globally, says proportionate limits would protect consumers while preserving nicotine pouches as a viable reduced-risk alternative to cigarettes. Dr. Marina Murphy, Haypp’s senior director of scientific affairs, said a 20 mg maximum provides a nicotine experience comparable to smoking without enabling “ultra-strength” products to proliferate, with some reportedly containing up to 150 mg per pouch.

  • Pouch Boom Disrupting Scandinavian Tradition: Report

    A report tracking more than 19 million online purchases between 2018 and 2025 suggests nicotine pouches are rapidly overtaking traditional snus in Sweden and Norway, signaling a cultural shift in Scandinavia’s long-standing oral nicotine market. The research found that tobacco-free nicotine pouches now account for the largest share of oral nicotine sales on leading regional e-commerce platforms, as consumers move away from tobacco-based snus. Globally, nicotine pouch sales have surged from roughly 292 million units in 2018 to more than 20 billion in 2023, with strong growth also reported in the UK and U.S. Study co-author Dr. Marina Murphy of Haypp Group said many users perceive pouches as a lower-risk alternative, underscoring the need for public health authorities to closely monitor the fast-evolving category and its broader implications.