GFN News #186 | Why is the Media Ignoring the Record Low in Youth Smoking?

In this episode of GFN News, Joanna Junak sits down with Will Godfrey, Executive Editor of Filter, to dissect the latest findings from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS). While public health agencies have long warned of a youth vaping "epidemic," the actual data reveals a startling and positive trend that many organizations seem reluctant to celebrate. In this interview, we cover: - The Record Lows: Why youth smoking in the U.S. has plummeted to a historic 0.2%—and why there was no "fanfare" from the CDC or FDA. - Debunking the "Gateway" Theory: How a decade of data shows that vaping has likely displaced smoking rather than encouraged it. - The Politics of Panic: A look at how "moral panic" and agency narratives often overshadow inconvenient truths about safer nicotine alternatives. - Common Liability: Understanding why researchers believe the correlation between vaping and smoking is misunderstood by mainstream tobacco control. As youth smoking rates hit unprecedented lows, we ask: Why are the entities tasked with protecting public health stoking alarmism instead of acknowledging this historic decline?