Call for Harm Reduction Scholarship Applications

Knowledge Action Change (KAC) is looking for people to propose projects exploring their professional or personal interest in tobacco harm reduction (THR) for the next cohort of its Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship program (THRSP). Applications for the fifth year of the program close on Nov. 30, 2021, and successful applicants will receive a 12-month bespoke mentoring program and up to $10,000 in financial support.

According to Paddy Costall, a director at KAC, the THRSP is a crucial part of global efforts to communicate the benefits of safer nicotine products, helping to raise awareness about vaping, heated tobacco products, snus and nicotine pouches.

“The Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship program is the jewel in the crown for KAC,” he says. “When we were setting out on this journey, we wanted to attract a passionate and diverse group of new advocates into the tobacco harm reduction field from across the globe. We wanted to inspire them to take the movement into the future. We wanted to find the researchers of tomorrow, and with the THRSP that is exactly what we are doing.”

To further enhance the program’s status, KAC recently appointed Ethan Nadelmann, the founder of the Drug Policy Alliance, as the THRSP’s new patron. Nadelmann will be providing support to the recipients of these scholarships.

Launched in 2018, the program has supported 75 Scholars on six continents. Projects completed by THRSP participants include:

• A short documentary film exploring attitudes on smoking and THR in Malawi
• Novel scientific research in Romania showing that switching completely from combustible cigarettes to heated tobacco products can boost the oral health of smokers
• The creation of a smoking and recovery toolkit in the U.S. to combat the high rates of smoking among people in recovery or seeking treatment for dependency on alcohol or other drugs
• A study assessing the THR knowledge base of healthcare staff in Lithuania
• A pair of studies that demonstrated the potential for safer nicotine products, such as vaping and Swedish-style snus, to help India’s smokers and smokeless tobacco users
• The creation of THR Uganda, an organization set up to share accurate information on tobacco smoking and nicotine with its own dedicated website
• A study on the effects of providing vapes to homeless smokers in Ireland

To find out more about the program, visit the Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship program website.