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Tobacco & Nicotine: Public Health, Science, Policy, and Law
  • Level Foundation
  • Duration 23 hours
  • Course by University of Michigan
  • Offered by

About

This course provides a strong foundation in the history of smoking and other tobacco and nicotine use; the individual and public health impact; tobacco use prevalence trends in adults, youth and key subpopulations; and how cigarette smoking came to be, and remains to this day, the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. and globally, despite the fact that tobacco control efforts have collectively constituted one of the most successful public health endeavors in our history. The course also explores the role of the tobacco industry in the epidemic, as well as the pursuit of accountability and industry behavior change through legal action; the rapidly evolving tobacco and nicotine product marketplace; the unique and ever-changing regulatory and other policy challenges that have emerged; and the implications of this rapid change for public health today and in the future. Hosted by lead instructor Cliff Douglas of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, the course features 18 experts in a range of tobacco control areas and issues. Through a series of lectures, interviews, readings, and assessments, the course tells the story of smoking and tobacco and nicotine product use, focusing on the specific - but not unique - story of the U.S., while also presenting important information and insights from elsewhere in the world.

Modules

Lesson 0: Introduction to the Course

    • 5 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
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1 Discussions

  • Introduce yourself!

5 Readings

  • Meet your Lead Instructor
  • Expert Course Contributors
  • Course Syllabus
  • Course Acknowledgments
  • Pre-Course Survey

Lesson 1: Introduction to Tobacco and Health

    • 1 Videos
    • 2 Readings
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1 Videos

  • Introduction to Tobacco and Health

2 Readings

  • Health Consequences of Smoking, Surgeon General Fact Sheet
  • Module 1, Lesson 1: Optional Readings and Resources

Lesson 2: Health Effects of Smoking (Combustibles) and the Role of Non-combustible Products

    • 3 Videos
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3 Videos

  • Combustible Tobacco Use
  • Introduction to Non-Combustible Products with Ken Warner
  • Continuum of Risk and Harm with Mitch Zeller

Lesson 3: The Tobacco Epidemic: Historical and Contemporary Trends

    • 3 Videos
    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
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1 Discussions

  • The Contempory Population of Smokers

3 Videos

  • Causes of Smoking and Overall Trends with Ken Warner
  • Behavioral Health & Tobacco Use Trends with Chad Morris
  • Trends in Adolescent Tobacco Use with Richard Miech

2 Readings

  • The Evolving Cigarette
  • Module 1, Lesson 3: Optional Readings and Resources

Lesson 4: Module Wrap-up and Optional Readings

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 Readings
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1 Videos

  • Module 1 Wrap-up

1 Readings

  • Module 1: Optional Readings, Resources and Slides

Lesson 1: The Historical Role of the Tobacco Industry

    • 5 Videos
    • 5 Readings
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5 Videos

  • Introduction to Module 2
  • Origins of the Cigarette Catastrophe with Robert Proctor
  • Deception, Corruption, and What is to be Done? with Robert Proctor
  • Industry Insider Perspective: Interview with Bill Farone
  • Massachusetts Tobacco Tax Campaign: Interview with Howard Koh

5 Readings

  • Support for policies to prohibit the sale of menthol cigarettes and all tobacco products among adults
  • Smoke Screen: The Pursuit to Create Doubt
  • An analysis of the successful 1992 Massachusetts tobacco tax initiative
  • The first decade of the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program
  • Module 2: Lesson 1 Optional Readings and Resources

Lesson 2: The Role of the Tobacco Industry - Present & Future

    • 2 Videos
    • 1 Readings
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2 Videos

  • Evolving Marketplace of Nicotine Products with Mike Cummings
  • Contradictions within Industry Behavior with Mike Cummings

1 Readings

  • The past is not the future in tobacco control

Lesson 3: Module Wrap-up, Optional Readings, and Quiz

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Quiz 1

1 Videos

  • Module 2 Wrap-up

1 Readings

  • Module 2: Optional Readings, Resources and Slides

Lesson 1: Tobacco Policy History and Future Directions

    • 3 Videos
    • 3 Readings
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3 Videos

  • Introduction to Tobacco Policy
  • Tobacco Control Policy
  • Global Tobacco Policy (FCTC)

3 Readings

  • CDC Best Practices Guide
  • Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids webpage on the WHO FCTC
  • The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: an overview

Lesson 2: Health Warning Labels

    • 5 Readings
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5 Readings

  • New proposed cigarette health warnings
  • FDA requires new health warnings for cigarettes packages and advertisements
  • Graphic warning labels on cigarettes could have prevented hundreds of thousands of deaths
  • Court ruling against FDA’s graphic cigarette warnings is wrong on the law and must be appealed
  • Module 3: Lesson 2 Optional Readings and Resources

Lesson 3: Reduced Nicotine Content Cigarettes

    • 3 Readings
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3 Readings

  • FDA announces plans for proposed rule to reduce addictiveness of cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products
  • The U.S. government’s call for deep nicotine reduction in cigarettes could save millions of lives - an expert who studies tobacco addiction explains
  • Module 3: Lesson 3 Optional Readings and Resources

Lesson 4: Policy Interventions and Unintended Consequences

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 Discussion
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1 Discussions

  • Tobacco control policy intervention

1 Videos

  • Policy Interventions and Unintended Consequences - Abby Friedman

Lesson 5: Wrap-up and Optional Readings

    • 1 Videos
    • 2 Readings
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1 Videos

  • Module 3 Wrap-up

2 Readings

  •  Let’s Make the Next Generation Tobacco-Free: Your Guide to the 50th Anniversary Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health
  • Module 3: Optional Readings, Resources and Slides

Lesson 1: Legal Measures to Counter Tobacco Industry Actions and Strategies

    • 5 Videos
    • 3 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
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1 Discussions

  • Did the MSA meet its stated aims?

5 Videos

  • Litigation Introduction
  • Tobacco on Trial: Claims with Mike Cummings
  • Tobacco on Trial: Issues and Processes with Mike Cummings
  • A Look Back at the History of Tobacco Litigation and What Changed in the 1990s: Interview with Dan Zegart
  • State Attorney General Action and the Master Settlement Agreement: Interview with Mike Moore

3 Readings

  • Epidemiology of the third wave of tobacco litigation in the United States, 1994-2005
  • Tobacco Manufacturers’ Defence Against Plaintiffs’ Claims of Cancer Causation: Throwing Mud at the Wall and Hoping Some of It Will Stick
  • Master Settlement Agreement Summary

Lesson 2: Wrap-up, Quiz, and Optional Readings

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Quiz 2

1 Videos

  • Module 4 Wrap-up

1 Readings

  • Module 4: Optional Reading and Slides

Lesson 1: Tobacco Harm Reduction - Benefits & Challenges

    • 5 Videos
    • 3 Readings
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5 Videos

  • Harm Reduction Module Introduction
  • Introduction to Harm Reduction with Mike Cummings
  • Historical Context of Alternative Nicotine Products with Mike Cummings
  • Modern Context of Alternative Nicotine Products with Mike Cummings
  • Harm Reduction Controversy and the Issue of Common Goals with Mitch Zeller

3 Readings

  • Clearing the Smoke: Assessing the Science Base for Tobacco Harm Reduction - Executive Summary
  • The Future of Nicotine Regulation: Key Questions and Challenges
  • Module 5, Lesson 1: Optional Readings and Resources

Lesson 2: Case Study of How Policy is Informed: The E-cigarette Debate

    • 4 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
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1 Discussions

  • Advocate A Different Perspective

4 Readings

  • Considering Different Perspectives on E-Cigarettes and Harm Reduction
  • Balancing Consideration of the Risks and Benefits of E-Cigarettes
  • A Proposed Policy Agenda For Electronic Cigarettes In The US: Product, Price, Place, And Promotion
  • How to Think—Not Feel—about Tobacco Harm Reduction

Lesson 3: Wrap-up

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 Readings
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1 Videos

  • Module 5 Wrap-up

1 Readings

  • Module 5: Optional Readings, Resources and Slides

Lesson 1: What is Modeling?

    • 4 Videos
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4 Videos

  • Modeling Introduction
  • What Is Modeling? with Rafael Meza
  • Why Do We Model? with Rafael Meza
  • Modeling in Tobacco Control with Rafael Meza

Lesson 2: Examples of How Modeling is Used in Tobacco Regulatory Science

    • 3 Videos
    • 5 Readings
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3 Videos

  • Menthol Cigarettes: Past, Present, and Future with David Mendez
  • Youth Nicotine Use with Ruoyan Sun
  • Forecasting Future Smoking Prevalence with Ken Warner

5 Readings

  • Why is the FDA seeking to ban menthol cigarettes? 4 questions answered
  • CDC Fact Sheet on Menthol Tobacco Products
  • CDC Fact Sheet on Youth and Tobacco Use
  • Monitoring the increase in the U.S. smoking cessation rate and its implication for future smoking prevalence
  • Module 6, Lesson 2: Optional Readings and Resources

Lesson 3: Wrap-up

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Quiz 3

1 Videos

  • Module 6 Wrap-up

1 Readings

  • Module 6: Optional Readings, Resources and Slides

Lesson 1: Introduction to the Tobacco Endgame

    • 1 Videos
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1 Videos

  • What is the Tobacco Endgame and Why Does It Matter?

Lesson 2: New Zealand Case Study: Endgame in Action

    • 1 Videos
    • 2 Readings
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1 Videos

  • Smoking Endgame in Aotearoa New Zealand: Case Study with Ben Youdan

2 Readings

  • Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan
  • A Global First: New Zealand Passes Tobacco Endgame Bill Package

Lesson 3: Endgame Perspectives & Module Wrap-up

    • 2 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 PeerReview
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1 Peer Review

  • Tobacco "Endgame" Scenario Analysis

2 Videos

  • Moderated Panel Discussion with Chris Bostic, Ann McNeill, and Ken Warner
  • Module 7 Wrap-up

1 Readings

  • Module 7, Lesson 3: Optional Readings, Resources, and Slides

Lesson 4: Course Conclusion

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 Readings
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1 Videos

  • Course Conclusion

1 Readings

  • Post-Course Survey

Auto Summary

Unlock a comprehensive understanding of the profound impact tobacco and nicotine have on public health with the course "Tobacco & Nicotine: Public Health, Science, Policy, and Law." Delve into the history of smoking, explore the trends and prevalence of tobacco use among various demographics, and grasp how cigarette smoking has become the leading preventable cause of death globally. Despite significant tobacco control efforts, this course reveals why the battle against tobacco-related harm continues to be a critical public health challenge. Led by Cliff Douglas from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and featuring insights from 18 distinguished experts, this course examines the role of the tobacco industry, legal accountability, and the evolving landscape of tobacco and nicotine products. Learn about the regulatory and policy hurdles and their implications for current and future public health initiatives. Spanning 1380 minutes of engaging content, including lectures, interviews, readings, and assessments, this foundational-level course is tailored for individuals interested in the intersection of health, policy, and law. Available through Coursera's Starter subscription, it offers invaluable insights for those keen to contribute to one of the most successful public health endeavors in history. Whether you're a student, health professional, policymaker, or simply passionate about public health, this course will equip you with the knowledge to understand and address the ongoing tobacco epidemic. Join now and be part of the effort to shape a healthier future.

David Mendez
Instructor

David Mendez