Tobacco Harm Reduction: The Way Forward

01
THR is recognised in the WHO’s FCTC (Article 1(d)). It should be a central part of the public health strategy on tobacco

02
More stakeholder discussion is needed regarding the weight of evidence that validates THR

03
Randomised Clinical Trial data and in-market data demonstrate the efficacy of THR to manifest smoking reduction

04
Adult consumers have a right to access legally regulated tobacco and nicotine products

05
Banning Smokeless Products inhibits reductions in smoking prevalence and can encourage illicit Smokeless Product markets

06
All stakeholders recognise that tobacco and nicotine are never for those below the minimum legal age

07
Market data shows smoking is at an all-time low, suggesting in the main, that Smokeless Products are not leading to more smoking. Vigilant post-market surveillance is needed to monitor these trends

08
Data from Sweden confirms mortality and morbidity reduction potential of Smokeless Products alongside more than a decade of usage of Smokeless Products by more than 100 million adult smokers

09
While there is a public health risk of sustained or new nicotine usage, more discussion is needed to assess the view that this risk is greatly outweighed by the benefits of THR

10
Public health bodies have confirmed that nicotine is not carcinogenic^[7],[8]; it is the harmful chemicals generated from the burning of tobacco that are primarily responsible for smoking-related harm

11
The focus of the public health strategy on tobacco should be to minimise the harm of tobacco on society and this can be achieved via a combination of evidence-based tobacco control measures and THR

12
If adult consumers wish to use Smokeless Products, they should be supplied within a regulatory framework that is enforced to ensure access to legal products without the creation of illicit markets

13
Several public health authorities across the world have stated that THR products present less risk than smoking^[9-13]