Our Future

Tobacco control thought leadership is at a crossroads. All responsible stakeholders in this arena share the goals of ending the needless suffering and premature death caused by cigarette smoking. And all agree that children and youth must not fall prey to nicotine addiction in any form, particularly to the uniquely deadly harms of smoking. But neither can we ignore the one billion existing adult smokers across the globe who continue to suffer from cigarette addiction.

To balance those public health concerns, Global Action believes that tobacco control efforts should include harm reduction: minimizing to the greatest extent possible the morbidity and mortality resulting from the widespread use of conventional, combustible cigarettes.  

Instead of fighting an all-or-nothing crusade, we must help those adults who are unable or unwilling to cease nicotine use by (i) educating adults and their care providers on the role of reduced-risk nicotine products and correcting misinformation around nicotine, (ii) substantially reducing their exposure to harmful chemicals and (iii) supporting alternatives that would allow them to switch away from smoking toward lower risk, less harmful products.

Our 2025-2027 strategic plan outlines the way we will achieve our mission and vision of a world free of death and disease related to smoking.

OUR GOALS

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Fill evidentiary knowledge gaps relating to smoking cessation and the continuum of risk by funding grants to scientists and health experts. 
Enable adults who smoke to make informed decisions by promoting an understanding about smoking cessation and the continuum of risk. 
Impact agricultural diversification in Malawi by completing our commitment there. 
Amplify Global Action’s public health impact by accelerating support for effective solutions to end smoking. 

One step we’ve already taken in this direction is through our latest grantee, Northwell Health.

In May 2025, Global Action announced that it would be supporting Northwell Health, New York State’s largest health care provider, to increase smoking cessation among populations with elevated smoking rates in Queens. This marks the first time that a patient center operated by a major health care provider will integrate tobacco harm reduction into its existing programs to address smoking and cardiovascular disease.

With support from Global Action, trained cessation specialists will deliver an updated curriculum encompassing evidence-based strategies to quit smoking. These will include tobacco harm reduction, nicotine replacement therapy, behavioral modification, and relapse prevention. The program will also address co-occurring conditions and evaluate participant progress at one, three, six, nine, and 12 months.

 

This initiative builds on growing evidence that broader cessation strategies, including tobacco harm reduction, are essential for reaching populations with disproportionately high smoking rates. We are excited to monitor the progress of the grant, and are looking forward to exploring similar opportunities with like-minded organizations. 

We will continue to accelerate comprehensive science-based global efforts and empower health and science research, cessation education, and agricultural transformation through impactful grantmaking. We will prioritize our work to achieve the greatest impact and accelerate efforts to end the global smoking epidemic.  

You can read more about our 2025 – 2027 strategic plan here. 

Global Action's Board of Directors Chair Pam Parizek stands with representatives from grantees Natasha Toropova from Healthy Initiatives and Shari Jardine and Dr. Keasha Guerrier from Northwell Health.