Alex Norcia

Alex was formerly Filter’s news editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor at VICE, and has been published in the New York Times Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, the Los Angeles Times and the New Republic, among other outlets. He was also previously a freelance editorial consultant for the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World; The Influence Foundation, which operates Filter, has received grants from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World. He is currently based in Los Angeles.

Tobacco Harm Reduction Reflections, as My Years of Reporting End

Many people who vape, or are otherwise involved in tobacco harm reduction, will remember the summer of 2019. That was…

February 14, 2023

Smoking Deaths Sidelined in Biden’s State of the Union Address

President Joe Biden was set to announce in his February 7 State of the Union (SOTU) address how he’d lead…

February 8, 2023

Safer-Nicotine Consumer Groups Have Almost No Funding Worldwide

Consumer organizations advocating for tobacco harm reduction (THR) are often underfunded, led by volunteers, and still successful, according to a…

February 2, 2023

FDA Authorizes More Heated Tobacco Products, Rejects More Vapes

On January 26, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized three heated tobacco products manufactured by Philip Morris International. The…

January 27, 2023

Appeals Court Reignites Triton Case Against FDA, Key to Flavored Vapes

On January 19, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that the cases of Triton and Vapetasia, two US-based vapor…

January 20, 2023

Johns Hopkins Call for Nicotine “Common Language” Falls Flat

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has just published a video, featuring Johanna Cohen, the Bloomberg professor of…

January 12, 2023

FDA Leaders’ Smoking Cessation “Care Package” Article Draws Fire

At the end of December, Robert Califf, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Brian King, the…

January 5, 2023

The Biggest Tobacco Harm Reduction Battles to Come in 2023

United States tobacco control did not have an easy 2022. So much turmoil has come and gone this past year…

December 29, 2022

California’s Vape Flavor Ban Begins With Confusion, Enforcement Threats

On December 21, California’s nicotine flavor ban finally went into effect, a little more than a month after voters overwhelmingly…

December 22, 2022

Ball in FDA’s Court as Official Review Cites Its Chaos, Opacity Over Vapes

On December 19, the Reagan-Udall Foundation, an independent nonprofit tasked by Congress to help modernize the Food and Drug Administration…

December 20, 2022