Back in 2022, I wrote about how YouTube was quietly removing, age-restricting, and demonetizing videos from long-time vaping creators like Nick “Grimm Green” Green, Matt Culley, and Phil Busardo — the very people who helped millions of adult smokers discover safer alternatives and learn how to use them responsibly.
At the time, we hoped the wave of strikes and takedowns was a glitch, or at least a passing over-correction.
Three years later, it’s clear that it wasn’t.

Déjà Vu in 2025: GrimmGreen Speaks Out Again

If you follow @GrimmGreen on X, you’ve probably seen his latest posts documenting another round of content removals and warnings from YouTube. Videos that have educated and supported adult vapers for over a decade are once again being flagged — not because they sell or promote products to minors, but because they dare to discuss tobacco harm reduction in a factual, adult-oriented way.

As Grimm put it, “I’ve spent 16 years trying to help smokers switch to something that can save their lives — and YouTube is still treating that like a crime.”

Link: https://x.com/GrimmGreen/status/1986089305530613846?s=20

He’s not exaggerating. Creators who helped shape responsible vaping culture are now forced to censor or delete videos, leaving gaps in information that once helped adults transition away from cigarettes.

The Harm in Silencing Harm Reduction

This is more than a “content policy issue.” It’s a public-health problem.
Removing evidence-based discussion about vaping doesn’t protect anyone — it buries lifesaving information that could help smokers quit.

Platforms like YouTube claim to be protecting youth, but in doing so they are erasing entire libraries of content designed for and viewed by adults. Meanwhile, truly harmful and inappropriate content thrives untouched.

We’ve seen this pattern before: misinformation spreads easily, while legitimate voices in harm reduction are silenced or punished. The result? Confusion, fear, and millions of smokers who never hear that safer options even exist.

Science Hasn’t Changed — The Narrative Has

The science remains consistent. Leading experts like Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians still affirm that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking combustible cigarettes.

Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/e-cigarettes-an-evidence-update

And yet, American public-health messaging — and now platform policy — continues to conflate vaping with smoking, ignoring decades of evidence and millions of lived experiences.

We Need Platforms That Empower, Not Erase

It’s time for tech companies to understand that tobacco harm reduction isn’t promotion — it’s prevention.

Creators like Nick aren’t selling products; they’re saving lives by sharing the information public health agencies should be promoting themselves.

If YouTube truly wants to “protect youth,” it should focus on age-gating and responsible access — not erasing content that helps adult smokers escape cigarettes.

Until then, the harm-reduction community will keep finding ways to share the truth — even if the platforms keep trying to silence it.

Because for millions of adults, access to accurate information isn’t optional — it’s survival.