DON’T LET DISINFORMATION ENDANGER LIVES, TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION IS REAL

DON’T LET DISINFORMATION ENDANGER LIVES, TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION IS REAL

By Joseph Magero (African Times Guest Writer)

Everyone wants to reduce the approximately

30,000 annual tobacco-related deaths in Kenya;

so it’s especially disappointing to see the nay-

sayers undermining our best opportunity to do

just that.

Tobacco harm reduction products, such as e-

cigarettes and tobacco-free nicotine pouches,

are quickly proving to be the most effective and

safest alternatives for smokers who want to

switch from traditional cigarettes, but who want

to continue enjoying nicotine or who are

struggling to quit altogether. They are an

innovative option for thousands of smokers

previously confronted with the ‘quit or die’

scenario, as they focus on short-term attainable

goals rather than long-term ideals. And these

alternative products have been developed with

the knowledge that the real harm from

traditional cigarettes is caused by the burning

of tobacco, which releases thousands of

disease-causing toxicants. E-cigarettes and

nicotine pouches don’t burn tobacco and

therefore deliver nicotine with a dramatically

reduced risk.

There are literally hundreds of peer-reviewed

scientific papers assessing these products, and

the reviews by public health institutions across

the world indicate that these products have a

much lower risk profile than cigarettes. 24 of

the world’s leading public health institutions

publicly support the use of vaping in their public

smoking cessation campaigns. And it is

notable that many of these institutions come

from countries ranked as having the lowest

levels of tobacco industry interference in

Government policies. When readily available,

reduced risk alternatives act as an effective

tobacco harm reduction tool and provide

smokers with the option to choose safer

alternatives over cancer-inducing cigarettes.

For example, the effectiveness of “Swedish

snus”, a type of modified oral tobacco pouch, in

reducing smoking incidence and tobacco

related disease is evident in Sweden, where

there is the highest consumption of pouches

and the lowest smoking rates in Europe.

Tellingly, the Swedish rate of tobacco-related

lung cancer for men is less than half the EU

average.

So, for activists to spread disinformation that

might deter smokers from switching to these

products is downright dangerous. We need a

balanced approach to alternative nicotine

products and not a knee-jerk reaction, as they

are clearly designed to help smokers

successfully move away from tobacco.

Not only are they effective, they cost

Government nothing while helping to reduce the

disease burden from smoking. The risk we

should most definitely avoid is to allow

disinformation to block smokers from

switching to tobacco-free alternatives that help

reduce smoking-related disease.

(The writer is the Chairman of CASA Africa.

Email Joseph@safer-alternatives.org)

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