A new public health strategy, Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR), is gaining international recognition for its potential to combat the ongoing global health crisis caused by tobacco use.
A focus on THR strategies promises significant socio-economic benefits, potentially improving public health and saving economies billions in healthcare costs.
Reduced illness and deaths
Tobacco use causes over 8 million deaths annually worldwide, with direct smoking and secondhand smoke exposure being major contributors.
Embracing THR can help mitigate and potentially eliminate tobacco-related illnesses and deaths.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), quitting smoking can add up to 10 years to a person's life expectancy.
Public health improvement
Switching to less harmful alternatives, like vapes, can lead to significant health improvements, including better lung function and reduced respiratory illnesses.
Studies show that toxicant levels in vape aerosols are significantly lower compared to combustible cigarettes.
Economic savings
THR can reduce healthcare costs associated with smoking-related diseases.
Bangladesh has approximately 6.2 million adult smokers. THR can increase productivity due to fewer sick days and improved health.
The UK offers an encouraging case study of the economic benefits. An estimated £2.9 billion in healthcare cost savings from the use of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool.
According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, the UK government earned £310 million in 2021 in tax revenue from the vaping industry alone.
A projected cumulative net public health benefit of £25.7 billion by 2050.
Dhaka TribuneIn Their Own Words: Top Organizations' Stance On THR
World Health Organization EURO Office said there is conclusive evidence that completely substituting electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems for combustible tobacco cigarettes reduces users' exposure to toxicants and numerous carcinogens present in combustible tobacco cigarettes.
Cochrane systematic evidence reviewed 61 scientific studies (including 34 randomized control trials) involving 16,759 participants in a dozen countries and found moderate evidence that nicotine e-cigarettes are more effective for smoking cessation than nicotine replacement therapies [nicotine patches and nicotine gum].
"We did not detect evidence of harm from nicotine e-cigarettes," they said.
The UK Health Security Agency (Previously known as Public Health England) said: "Our new review reinforces the finding that vaping is a fraction of the risk of smoking, at least 95% less harmful, and of negligible risk to bystanders. Yet over half of smokers either falsely believe that vaping is as harmful as smoking or just don't know."
UK Royal College of Physicians said although it is not possible to precisely quantify the long-term health risks associated with e-cigarettes, the available data suggest that they are unlikely to exceed 5% of those associated with smoked tobacco products, and may well be substantially lower than this figure.
“E-cigarettes are effective in helping people to stop smoking," they added.
British Medical Association said significant numbers of smokers are using e-cigarettes (electronic cigarettes), with many reporting that they are helpful in quitting or cutting down cigarette use.
There are clear potential benefits to their use in reducing the substantial harms associated with smoking, and a growing consensus that they are significantly less harmful than tobacco use, they added.
New Zealand Ministry of Health considered vaping products could disrupt inequities and contribute to Smokefree 2025.
The evidence on vaping products indicates they carry much less risk than smoking cigarettes but are not risk free, the ministry said.
“Evidence is growing that vaping can help people to quit smoking. There is no international evidence that vaping products are undermining the long-term decline in cigarette smoking among adults and youth, and may in fact be contributing to it," they added.
New Zealand Medical Association said it is likely that e-cigarettes will be an effective tool for smokers who want to quit.
“There is general scientific consensus that the exclusive use of nicotine- containing e-cigarettes is considerably less harmful than smoking. We support making nicotine-containing e-cigarettes legally and readily available in New Zealand for adults," they added.
Royal Australian College of Physicians said they acknowledge that e-cigarettes may have a potential role in tobacco harm reduction and smoking cessation for smokers unable or unwilling to quit.
European Commission Directorate- General, Health and Consumer Protection explained that in recent decades, the use of snus in Sweden has increased while the number of smokers in this country has decreased.
“There is general agreement that the use of moist snuff is less dangerous than tobacco smoking. It is undeniable that, for an individual, substitution of tobacco smoking by the use of moist snuff ["snus"] would decrease the incidence of tobacco related diseases," they added.
French High Council for Public Health shared: "E-cigarettes can be considered a smoking cessation aid for smokers who would like to completely break their habit. [They] are a tool for reducing the risks of smoking."
US Food and Drug Administration presented fact sheets that explains e-cigarettes are "potentially less harmful forms of nicotine delivery for adults.
Many studies suggest e-cigarettes and noncombustible tobacco products may be less harmful than combustible cigarettes, they said adding: "Make no mistake. We see the possibility for ENDS products like e-cigarettes to provide a potentially less harmful alternative for currently addicted individual adult smokers who still want to get access to satisfying levels of nicotine without many of the harmful effects that come with the combustion of tobacco."
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said: "E-cigarettes expose users to fewer harmful chemicals than burned cigarettes."
"E-cigarettes have the potential to benefit adult smokers who are not pregnant if used as a complete substitute for regular cigarettes and other smoked tobacco products," they added.
American Heart Association said participants who vaped exclusively showed a similar inflammatory and oxidative stress profile as people who did not smoke cigarettes or use e-cigarettes.
“Compared to participants who smoked exclusively, those who vaped exclusively had significantly lower levels of almost all inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers," they added.
US Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said: "E-cigarettes could benefit public health if they help significantly reduce the number of people who use combustible cigarettes and die of tobacco-related disease."
The Canadian government said vaping is less harmful than smoking.
“Completely replacing cigarette smoking with vaping will reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals. There are short-term general health improvements if you completely switch from smoking cigarettes to vaping products," the government added.
Canadian Cancer Society stated: "If you are a smoker who has tried but not succeeded with other quitting methods, you would be better off, from a health perspective, to use e-cigarettes if it helps you stay off conventional cigarettes.
“Research so far shows that to get the comparative health benefit of using e-cigarettes (that is, the lesser harm caused by e-cigarettes compared to the greater harm cause by conventional cigarettes), you should completely stop smoking conventional cigarettes," they added.
