Category: Harm Reduction

Tobacco Control Urged to Embrace THR

Graph: KAC
A new report published by the U.K. public health agency Knowledge Action Change (KAC) demonstrates an urgent need to scale up tobacco harm reduction, which enables smokers to switch to safer nicotine products, eliminating the smoke that causes death and disease.
Titled “Burning Issues: The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR),” the report reveals that an estimated 98 million people use these products globally, including 68 million vapers, 20 million users of heated tobacco products and 10 million consumers of U.S. smokeless or pasteurized oral snus.
While showing huge demand for safer alternatives, these numbers are dwarfed by the global total of 1.1 billion smokers—a figure that has remained static for two decades despite billions spent on tobacco control. Eight million people die due to smoking-related disease every year.
During the report’s online launch, co-hosted with Lilongwe-based NGO THR Malawi on Nov. 4, the report authors showed that both access to and adoption of safer nicotine products largely remains the preserve of higher income countries, while 80 percent of the world’s smokers live in low- and middle-income countries poorly equipped to implement tobacco control or treat smoking-related disease.
The report further shows how tobacco control policy at the World Health Organization is being influenced by billions of dollars from U.S. foundations campaigning against tobacco harm reduction, while misinformation is discouraging smokers from switching to safer products.
KAC Director Gerry Stimson believes the world’s 1.1 billion smokers deserve better. “Integrated into tobacco control, harm reduction could be a gamechanger in the battle against noncommunicable disease,” he said in a statement. “Global tobacco control policymakers must listen to consumers and deliver policies that genuinely focus on reducing smoking-related deaths by all available means.”
Professor David Nutt argued that to reject the opportunity of tobacco harm reduction “is perhaps the worst example of scientific denial since the Catholic Church banned the works of Copernicus in 1616.”
November 9, 2020
BAT: Glo Reduces Exposure
Smokers who switched completely from smoking cigarettes to using British American Tobacco’s (BAT) Glo tobacco-heating product (THP) substantially reduced their exposure to certain cigarette smoke toxicants over three months, according to a company study published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

For many of the toxicants measured, the levels found in participants were similar to those in people who stopped using tobacco completely.

BAT scientists are conducting a year-long controlled study to see what impact switching from cigarettes to Glo will have on general health as well as smoke-toxicant exposure.

According to BAT, the study’s results find that smokers who switch from cigarettes to Glo exclusively significantly reduce the levels of harmful toxicants they are exposed to, potentially reducing their risk of developing smoking-related diseases.

“These initial results regarding Glo are extremely encouraging,” James Murphy, group head of potentially reduced-risk product science at BAT, said in a statement. “Glo provides smokers who wish to continue using tobacco and nicotine products with a potentially reduced-risk alternative to cigarettes. The results are another positive step for BAT as we continue our journey to reduce the health impact of our business by offering consumers a range of enjoyable and potentially reduced-risk products.”

November 5, 2020
‘State of Tobacco Harm Reduction’ Released

Image: Knowledge-Action-Change
Knowledge-Action-Change has launched a new report documenting the advances and significant challenges facing tobacco harm reduction in 2020.
Titled, “Burning Issues: The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction 2020,” the report is the second in a biennial series from the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR), a project established to map the development of tobacco harm reduction and use, availability and regulatory responses to safer nicotine products around the world.
Harry Shapiro
Written by Harry Shapiro, “Burning Issues” addresses both progress and achievements in the field since the first edition was published in 2018 but also identifies the major obstacles preventing tobacco harm reduction from fulfilling its public health potential worldwide.
Launching in tandem with the report is GSTHR’s major live data mapping project, which documents regulatory responses with live updates to more than 200 regional and country profiles. The free-to-access resource shows that with the support of global tobacco control, 36 countries have banned vapor devices/e cigarettes, 39 have banned ban snus and 13 countries have banned heated tobacco products.
By contrast, just one country (Bhutan) has enacted a ban on the sale of combustible tobacco, which has been temporarily lifted due to Covid-19.
November 5, 2020
Study: Lower Nicotine Reduces Addiction

A recent study shows that lowering nicotine content in cigarettes reduces nicotine addiction in vulnerable populations (those with psychiatric disorders, those suffering with addiction or those with socioeconomic disadvantage).
For 12 weeks, participants were randomly assigned research cigarettes that contained 0.4 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco, 2.4 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco or 15.8 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco. The latter is equivalent to standard cigarettes currently on the market while the two former are considered very low nicotine content.
Daily smoking rate decreased by about 30 percent in those using the very low nicotine cigarettes.
“We know that lower smoking rate and dependence severity are two important predictors of successful smoking cessation should someone attempt to quit,” said Stephen T. Higgins, director of the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine.
“Our findings in this and earlier studies suggest that lowering the nicotine content in all cigarettes to minimally addictive levels would benefit all smokers, including those most vulnerable to smoking and addiction.”
October 23, 2020
‘Global State of THR’ Set for Release

Photo: Knowledge-Action-Change
Knowledge-Action-Change is set to launch a new report documenting the advances and significant challenges facing tobacco harm reduction in 2020.
Titled, “Burning Issues: The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction 2020,” the report will be released Nov. 4, 2020.
The report is the second in a biennial series from the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR), a project established to map the development of tobacco harm reduction and use, availability and regulatory responses to safer nicotine products around the world.
The launch event, being held in partnership with THR Malawi, will be livestreamed over three interactive sessions from London; Lilongwe, Malawi; and locations around the world. Guest speakers include the neuropsychopharmacologist David Nutt, Australian Member of Parliament Fiona Patten, the Counterfactual’s Clive Bates, INNCO President Samrat Chowdhery, New Nicotine Alliance U.K.’s Martin Cullip and THR Malawi’s Chimwemwe Ngoma.
The audience will also hear from members of the GSTHR team, including Executive Editor Harry Shapiro and Project Director Gerry Stimson, who will explore the report’s findings in detail. Burning Issues addresses both progress and achievements in the field since the first edition was published in 2018 but also identifies the major obstacles preventing tobacco harm reduction from fulfilling its public health potential worldwide.
Registered audience members will be invited to pose their questions live at the end of each panel. Sessions will be available for playback, and the full report will be available for download from Nov. 4. Registration is free.
October 21, 2020
Advocates Welcome Cessation Findings

Photo: Sergey Shibut – Dreamstime.com
The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has welcomed new research that has found that vaping is 70 percent more effective in helping smokers to quit cigarettes than nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), such as patches and gum.
The study undertaken by Cochrane, which reviewed 50 studies across the world, with more than 12,000 participants, also showed that an additional 60 percent could potentially quit smoking with nicotine containing electronic cigarettes. In addition, the review found that “there was no evidence that people using nicotine containing e-cigarettes reported more serious health problems than people using nicotine-free e-cigarettes, NRT or no therapy at all.”
John Dunne
John Dunne, director general at the UKVIA, said the findings add to a growing catalogue of evidence supporting vaping’s role in smoking cessation.
“Quitting cigarettes can be difficult, which is why adult smokers must have access to the most effective tools available,” he said. “This review underlines the enormous potential vaping holds for public health, particularly as the government aims for a smoke-free U.K. by the end of the decade. We call on all stakeholders, from policymakers to health professionals, to seize the opportunity which vaping represents, and to give smokers the best chance of quitting successfully.”
According to Dunne, the recent review builds on research by the National Institute of Health Research and Cancer Research UK, which shows that vaping was far more effective than nicotine replacement therapy products.
October 16, 2020
Activists Propose Prescription Sales for Cigarettes

Australia already bans the display of tobacco products in stores. (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)
The Center for Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame (CREATE) wants Australia to reduce the number of tobacco retailers, restrict sales to outlets such as pharmacies and consider making cigarettes available on prescription only.
“An effective tobacco endgame strategy should accelerate the decline in smoking prevalence while assisting governments, retailers and people who smoke to transition to a smoke-free society,” Coral Gartner, director of CREATE, was quoted as saying by 9News.
Researchers also suggested ending sales to people born after a specified year and phasing out commercial cigarette sales.
Department of Health figures showed about 2.3 million people smoke tobacco daily in Australia—less than 15 percent of adults. The federal government aims to reduce that figure to 10 percent by 2025.
Smoking prevalence has been declining at an average rate of about 0.4 percent per year since 2010.
Australia is a global tobacco control leader and has been at the cutting edge of many new policies, including plain packaging.
October 16, 2020
Misperceptions About Risk Drive Down Vaping

Photo: Vchalup – Dreamstime.com
The number of vapers in the U.K. declined by 400,000 since last year, despite mounting evidence that e-cigarettes are effective smoking-cessation aids, according to a study commissioned by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
The Health Charity blames a “misguided belief vaping is just as harmful as cigarettes.”
“About a third of smokers have never even tried an e-cigarette, and less than 20 percent are currently using one,” said Deborah Arnott, CEO of ASH, in a statement. “If many more smokers could be encouraged to give e-cigarettes a go, the latest evidence indicates that many more might successfully quit.”
Only 39 percent of smokers in the country believe vaping is less harmful than smoking combustible cigarettes.
This year, there were 3.2 million e-cigarette users in the country, down from 3.6 million in 2019.
A review conducted by Cochrane suggests vaping could help more people stop smoking.

“There is now evidence that electronic cigarettes with nicotine are likely to increase the chances of quitting [smoking] successfully compared to nicotine gum or patches,” said Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, an expert at the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group who co-led the review.

The review included evidence from 50 studies around the world.

There was no clear evidence of serious harm resulting from nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, but since the review used a relatively small number of studies, the evidence is still uncertain.

“Scientific consensus holds that electronic cigarettes are considerably less harmful than traditional cigarettes but are not risk-free,” Hartmann-Boyce said.
October 15, 2020
Patent Granted for Nicotine Reduction

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
22nd Century Group has been granted a new U.S. patent related to the reduction of nicotine in the tobacco plant. The new technology provides 22nd Century with a rapid pathway to introduce very low nicotine traits into virtually any variety of tobacco, including bright, burley, oriental, and cigar tobacco varieties.
“We are very pleased to receive this patent which reflects the ingenuity and expertise of our talented scientific team,” said James A. Mish, chief executive officer of 22nd Century Group in a statement. “This new technology allows us to reduce nicotine in any tobacco variety.
“Importantly, this breakthrough further demonstrates that the FDA’s comprehensive plan for tobacco and nicotine regulation to limit the nicotine content of all cigarettes sold in the United States is technically feasible and at the same time refutes the claim from Big Tobacco that such low nicotine levels cannot be achieved in multiple tobacco varieties,” he added.
“I am proud of the significant R&D gains we continue to make as we work to achieve our mission to reduce the harm caused by smoking and seek to significantly disrupt the $100 billion U.S. and the $800 billion global tobacco industries with our proprietary reduced nicotine tobacco products.”
The new patent and allowed claims, published as U.S. Patent No. 10,669,552 and entitled “Up-regulation of auxin response factor NbTF7 to decrease nicotine in a plant,” cover methods of manipulating plant metabolism and alkaloid levels by controlling transcription factor NbTF7, which regulates the nicotinic alkaloid biosynthetic pathway. The patent enables the company’s use of next-generation gene modification technologies that afford greater flexibility for genetic control over nicotine levels in virtually any variety of the tobacco plant.
22nd Century is preparing for the launch of VLN, its proprietary reduced nicotine content tobacco cigarettes containing 95 percent less nicotine than conventional counterparts. Pending the FDA’s authorization of the company’s Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) application, VLN would be the first and only combustible cigarette to receive a MRTP designation, according to 22nd Century.

October 14, 2020
Nicotine Users Surveyed Ahead of TPD Revision

Photo: mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
In the run up to the revision of the European Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), scheduled for 2021, the European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (ETHRA) have launched a major survey to examine nicotine use in Europe.
Among other questions, the poll asks adult consumers about their views on possible regulatory changes. How would users react to increased taxes, flavor bans or to the legalization of snus? Is there a need for greater access to product information? Would lifting the container restriction on e-liquids have any impact? What is missing for people who want to quit smoking?
Available in Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish, the questionnaire will be open until Dec. 31, 2020.
In addition to evaluating the TPD, the European Commission is preparing proposals to amend its Tobacco Excise Directive to harmonize definitions and tax treatment of new products, including vapor, in 2021.
The European Parliament will debate the proposed TPD changes in May 2021.
The ETHRA offers tobacco harm reduction advocates in Europe a platform for exchanging information and sharing experiences.
October 14, 2020