Researchers from the Tobacco Control Research Group (TCRG), part of the University of Bath’s Centre for 21st Century Public Health, will present their research at a prestigious global public health conference. Five members of TCRG will attend the annual meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco (SRNT), held in Baltimore, USA from 4 to 7 March 2026.
The SRNT annual meeting is a gathering of over of 1,400 international attendees, including researchers, academics, and government employees working in the fields of nicotine and tobacco research. The programme for the 32nd annual meeting involves plenary lectures, paper sessions and symposia, and multiple scientific poster sessions.
TCRG researchers will share their work across a range of areas including tobacco taxation and pricing policies, use of artificial intelligence in tobacco control research, and the illicit tobacco trade. Members of TCRG have previously attended the SRNT annual meeting and the SRNT- E Conference, the annual meeting of the European Chapter of the SRNT.
Dr Rob Branston, Co-Director of the Tobacco Control Research Group, will present on ‘Reducing Tobacco Supplier Profits and Pricing power: Modelling the Impact of a Tobacco Price Cap and Tax Increase on Socioeconomic Inequalities in England’ as part of a wider session titled ‘Pricing and Taxation Policies: Economic Levers for Tobacco Control and Equity’.
Research Associate Dr Zaineb Sheikh will deliver an oral paper presentation titled ‘Eroding the Floor: The Weakening Impact of the UK’s Minimum Excise Tax on Tobacco’ also as part of the wider session titled ‘Pricing and Taxation Policies: Economic Levers for Tobacco Control and Equity’.
Research Data Manager Dr John Mehegan will participate in a presentation titled ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Nicotine and Tobacco Research to Inform Policy and Regulatory Science’.
Research Assistant Claudia Jardim, will share research she has been working on via a poster titled ‘Do Tobacco Control Policies Impact Tobacco Company Investment Behaviour via Share prices?’.
Dr Allen Gallagher, Co-Director of the Tobacco Control Research Group, will present two posters on his work on the illicit tobacco trade. The posters will be titled ‘British American Tobacco’s Continued Involvement in Illicit Tobacco Trade’ and ‘Using Internal Documents to Understand British American Tobacco’s Anti-Illicit Tobacco Programme’.
In addition to sharing their innovative research across a variety of sessions, TCRG researchers will have the opportunity to network with contacts from the international tobacco control community.
Since being established in 2007, the Tobacco Control Research Group has investigated the activities of the global tobacco industry, particularly the four largest transnational tobacco companies. The group’s award-winning work has had real impact on tobacco policymaking and is well-respected within the tobacco control community.
The team also manages TobaccoTactics.org, a unique knowledge exchange platform with information about key issues in tobacco control and the global tobacco industry. The site attracts thousands of users from across the world including researchers, policymakers, journalists and advocates.
Dr Rob Branston, Co-Director of the Tobacco Control Research Group, comments:
It is very important that there are opportunities for the international tobacco control community to come together in order to share learnings and best practice for addressing the tobacco epidemic.
We thank the organisers of the Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco annual meeting for providing this opportunity for the community to connect and exchange valuable knowledge.