Jonathan Foulds

Professor of Public Health Sciences, Pennsylvania State University-College of Medicine

Chapter Member: Central Pennsylvania SSN

Areas of Expertise:

Public Health

Connect with Jonathan

(717) 531-3504

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About Jonathan

Dr. Foulds has spent most of his career developing and evaluating methods to help smokers beat their addiction to tobacco. He has been a principal investigator on grants totaling over $50 million and has been invited to speak on smoking cessation in over 15 countries. In addition to his many publications on tobacco in peer-reviewed scientific journals, Dr. Foulds continues to treat addicted smokers, teach on smoking cessation and conduct research on tobacco and health. He is Co-director of the Penn State Center for Research on Tobacco and Health.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | Member Spotlight | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Why the FDA is Right about Zyn

Commentary, March 2025

In the News

Quoted by Elizabeth Hlavinka in "Massive Study of Adolescent Brains Puts “Gateway Drug” Theory into Question," Salon, January 6, 2025.

Guest on Science in 60 Seconds, December 4, 2024.

Guest on Let's Talk E-cigarettes, January 26, 2023.

Opinion: "The US Government’s Call for Deep Nicotine Reduction in Cigarettes Could Save Millions of Lives – An Expert Who Studies Tobacco Addiction Explains," Jonathan Foulds, August 4, 2022.

Publications

Treating Addiction to Tobacco and Nicotine Products (with Jill M. Williams). (American Psychiatric Association Publishing, 2025).

Provides a comprehensive guide to assessing and treating tobacco addiction to tobacco or nicotine. Covers topics such as trends in cigarette smoking and its associated harms, patterns of use, addictiveness, and health effects of non-cigarette tobacco products (including e-cigarettes, cigars, and pipes), and the need for systems change in health care settings.

"Cytisinicline to Speed Smoking Cessation in the United States" (with Sophia I. Allen and Jessica Yingst). JAMA 330, no. 2 (2023): 129-130.

Discusses the implications of a recently published trial of a new drug treatment for addiction to nicotine: cytisinicline.

"The Effects of Reduced Nicotine Content Cigarettes on Biomarkers of Nicotine and Toxicant Exposure, Smoking Behavior and Psychiatric Symptoms in Smokers with Mood or Anxiety Disorders: A Double-Blind Randomized Trial" (with Susan Veldheer, Gladys Pachas, Shari Hrabovsky, Ahmad Hameed, Sophia I. Allen, Corinne Cather, Nour Azzouz, Jessica Yingst, Erin Hammett, Jennifer Modesto, Nicolle M. Krebs, Courtney Lester, Neil Trushin, Lisa Reinhart, Emily Wasserman, Junjia Zhu, Jason Liao, Joshua E. Muscat, John P. Richie Jr., and A. Eden Evins). PLOS One 17, no. 11 (2022).

Examines the potential effects of reducing nicotine content in cigarettes to very low levels in smokers with affective disorders. Results show that this reduction lowers some toxicant exposures and cigarette addiction and increases smoking cessation in smokers with mood and/or anxiety disorders, without worsening mental health.

"Effect of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems on Cigarette Abstinence in Smokers With No Plans to Quit: Exploratory Analysis of a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial" (with Caroline O. Cobb, Miao-Shan Yen, Susan Veldheer, Phoebe Brosnan, Jessica Yingst, Shari Hrabovsky, Alexa A. Lopez, Sophia I. Allen, Christopher Bullen, Xi Wang, Chris Sciamanna, Erin Hammett, Breianna L. Hummer, Courtney Lester, John P. Richie, Nadia Chowdhury, Jacob T. Graham, Le Kang, Shumei Sun, and Thomas Eissenberg). Nicotine & Tobacco Research 24, no. 7 (2022): 955-961.

Examines the effectiveness of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) with varying nicotine levels in promoting cigarette abstinence in smokers who are interested in reducing but not planning to quit. Concludes that while few smokers completely quit in the short term, those using ENDS with nicotine levels similar to cigarettes were more likely to switch completely to ENDS compared to those using a placebo or cigarette substitute.

"Development of a Questionnaire for Assessing Dependence on Electronic Cigarettes among a Large Sample of Ex-Smoking E-cigarette Users" (with Susan Veldheer, Jessica Yingst, Shari Hrabovsky, Stephen J. Wilson, Travis T. Nichols, and Thomas Eissenberg). Nicotine & Tobacco Research 17, no. 2 (2015): 186-92.

Examines the potential for dependence on electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) by comparing it to dependence on tobacco cigarettes among ex-smokers who switched to e-cigs. Finds that e-cig users report less dependence on e-cigs than they did on cigarettes before switching. Notes that e-cig dependence varies by product characteristics and nicotine concentration and may increase with longer use.