The 5Tth Scientific Summit on Tobacco Harm Reduction that took place in Athens Greece, has amplified calls for justifiable and proper legislation of non-combustible tobacco products.
Panellists from various panel discussions that were held on the first day of the summit agreed that good scientific research and good policies could benefit all countries, and that it is the duty of researchers to inform consumers about the alternatives that are available.
Speaking during a panel discussion on evidence-based policy making, politics & society: The case of Tobacco Harm Reduction, Maria Spyraki, a Member of the European Union Parliament said while legislation control of smokeless tobacco was welcome, there was need for policies that govern tobacco products in line with new developments in the tobacco industry.
"The resolution we adopted as the European Parliament on February 16, 2022 is that we are trying to facilitate heavy smokers to proceed with cessation of smoking by using novel products which are still under strict regulation. We currently have a ban on tobacco products and we also have high taxes, which is one of the main revenues when it comes to the member states. However I think that these solutions are coming from the past and we have to adopt updated solutions. We have to rethink the way we approach novel products in order to facilitate heavy smokers," said Spyraki.
According to their resolution as the European Parliament, Spyraki added that they have called to the commission to follow up on the scientific evaluation of the health risk related to electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products and novel products including the assessment of the risk of using these products compared to consuming other tobacco products. She said the establishment of the European level list of substances emitted by these products was a sign of progress, taking into account the considerations that E-Cigarettes could allow some smokers to progressively quit smoking. It was also important to take into consideration that fact that e-cigarettes should not be attractive to minors and non-smokers.
She added that Europe's beating cancer plan put forward actions from 2021 to finally help create a tobacco free generation, setting an ambitious target which will see less that 5 percent of the population using tobacco by 2040 compared to the current average of 25 percent.
Mr Antony Fai, the president of the Polish Society of Public Health said governments were reluctant to make any policy changes which favour novel products but urged Tobacco Harm Reduction advocates to make use of parliament to push for policy governing novel products.
In Malaysia, the Malaysian Ministry of Health has since proposed a generational tobacco ban which, if passed, will come into effect from 2025, when those born in 2007 turn 18. Dr Wan Puteh, a Medical Doctor from Malaysia who spoke during a session on the current challenges governments face in Tobacco control said this ban will ensure that anyone born after Jan 1, 2007, will face a high fine if caught buying tobacco and vape products, and there is a huge support for this generational smoking ban among smokers, vapers and non-smokers/vapers alike. However Dr Wan Puteh also said, most people believe that, without implementing other harm reduction measures, this ban will only increase black market sales without decreasing smoking prevalence.
There is a growing call to adopt Harm Reduction Strategies as a complementary to smoking cessation and smoking prevention and to evaluate Tobacco Harm Reduction as another pillar of public health strategies. While the end goal remains a "smoke free world", THR advocates believe that governments should adopt a pragmatic public health perspective for smokers who fail to quit.
Meanwhile, Alexander Skouras, president of the Centre for Liberal Studies in Athens who spoke during a panel on Scientific Integrity and why it matters for public health' indicated that there was a one-size-fits-all approach to policies governing both combustible and non-combustible tobacco products.
"We see a lot of inconsistencies and a lot of justification for bad policies that characterise a very significant part of how novel tobacco products and new inventions are being regulated in the European Union. Since the 2010s, the Tobacco industry has witnessed a rapid transformation. New products that have an expressed goal of reducing harm, have taken significant space in many different parts of the world.
"One of the main obstacles that we have noticed is the way that the precautionary principles in the European Union are contrary to the Tobacco Harm Reduction regulations. You find that e-cigarettes are being treated like combustible cigarettes and this raises questions from a policy perspective," said Skouras.
New Zealand is currently considered a success story in smoking control. Implemented in 1990, its comprehensive Smoke-Free Environments Act was very progressive and fully embraced a harm reduction approach to smoking. However, the Vaping Regulation, that was passed in 2020, signalled a shift from harm reduction to prohibition
