"Hopefully it's a wave of the future that inhaling combusted tobacco will someday be a thing of the past."

The Nicotine and Tobacco Science Conference is our 25 year legacy of this vision
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“The Nicotine and Tobacco Science Conference seeks to provide an open, transparent forum for the debate and dissemination of the latest research advances. The conference facilitates respectful engagement and constructive dialogue to explore key trends and insights, highlighting emerging scientific evidence and open questions. Additionally, all presentations should clearly identify funding sources and disclose any potential conflicts of interest.”

Conference History

Spanning 24 years from 1995 - 2019, Dr. Jed E. Rose and colleague Dr. Ed Levin organized the Duke Nicotine Research Conference, a diverse and well attended scientific conference. This conference was aimed at "across the aisle" discussion, bringing leading academic and industry researchers together with a focus on smoking cessation, tobacco harm reduction, and understanding the underlying mechanisms contributing to cigarette addiction. This conference came to an abrupt pause due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Now in its second year post-pandemic, the Nicotine and Tobacco Science Conference will continue the legacy of addressing the latest knowledge and practices relating to this area with high public health impact. The 2024 conference will explore advances in scientific and clinical approaches relating to the benefits and harms of nicotine.

While the NTSC Conference is national is scope, it has a regional emphasis, seeking to highlight the latest science from leading centers of research in the Southeast and Eastern United States. The 2024 conference is hosted at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Disclosures

The 2024 NTSC conference is not funded by industry and is intended to be self-funded through ticket sales. Volunteer organizers in 2024 include Drs. Mike Cummings, Jed Rose, Gal Cohen, Tracy Smith, and Neal Benowitz.

Gal Cohen, PhD and Jed Rose, PhD are employees of Rose Research Center (RRC). RRC is an independent contract research organization that performs studies pertaining to smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction. RRC research support includes: National Institute on Drug Abuse; Global Action to End Smoking, a US nonprofit 501(c)(3) private foundation; Nicotine BRST LLC; JUUL Labs; Altria; Embera Neurotherapeutics, Inc.; Otsuka Pharmaceutical; Swedish Match, Philip Morris International. Patent applications filed for bupropion/zonisamide and related drug combinations. Patent purchase agreement with Philip Morris International for nicotine inhalation system patents, final payment 2014. Patent payments from Novartis through University of California patent license for nicotine skin patch, final payment 2008. RRC is the developer of the eResearch integrated digital platform for decentralized clinical trials of stop smoking products. J.E.R. Consulting: Philip Morris International, JT International, SA. G.C. was previously a Principal Scientist at JUUL Labs, a developer of non-combusted tobacco products, and was previously employed by its predecessor companies. He also was employed at Nektar Therapeutics, whose pipeline included an inhaled NRT. Stock holdings in JUUL Labs, and Qnovia, a developer of an inhaled NRT. RRC does not have any unrestricted grants, and its involvement in this conference is not sponsored by any third party entity.

Neal Benowitz, MD, provides consulting services to Achieve Life Sciences and Qnovia, companies that are developing medications for smoking cessation. He has also served as an expert witness in litigation against tobacco companies. Michael Cummings, PhD has been a paid expert witness in litigation against the cigarette industry. Saul Shiffman, PhD provides consulting services on tobacco harm minimization for JUUL Labs, Inc., on an exclusive basis. Matthew Carpenter, PhD serves as a paid expert consultant in litigation involving trade disputes involving e-cigarette manufacturers.