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Tag: Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction

  • COP10 to Reject Harm Reduction: Briefing

    COP10 to Reject Harm Reduction: Briefing

    Photo: Alesmunt

    Tobacco harm reduction will be absent at the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), according to new briefing paper published by the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR).

    Scheduled for Nov. 20-23 in Panama City, COP10 will have a significant influence how tobacco policies are implemented at a national level, which in turn will determine the future of safer nicotine products such as e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn products and nicotine pouches.

    To determine the potential impact of the conference on tobacco harm reduction, the GSTHR analyzed the COP10 agenda and supporting documents.

    The GSTHR’s analysis indicates that at present, tobacco harm reduction and its potential to reduce smoking-related death and disease are entirely missing from the proceedings. The publicly available documentation ahead of the FCTC COP10 presents safer nicotine products as a threat to tobacco control rather than as potential tools to support a switch from smoking and reduce high-risk tobacco use.

    Parties to the FCTC are expected to be encouraged to classify and regulate nicotine vapes, snus, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products in the same way as tobacco and combustible tobacco. This risks removing or reducing access to safer options from people who already use them and may return to smoking—and from people who smoke and have the potential to switch and improve their health, according to the GSTHR, which is a project of Knowledge Action Change (KAC).

    The WHO and FCTC Secretariat’s refusal to engage with evidence from multiple countries that have witnessed accelerated declines in smoking rates is unscientific and unjustifiable.

    Gerry Stimson, director, KAC

    “Having observed the WHO’s activities on this issue for some time, many are unsurprised that the FCTC COP10 meeting papers reveal a concerning direction of travel,” said KAC Director Gerry Stimson in a statement.

    “The WHO and FCTC Secretariat’s refusal to engage with evidence from multiple countries that have witnessed accelerated declines in smoking rates is unscientific and unjustifiable. Their repeated characterization of safer nicotine products as a threat to tobacco control runs directly counter to what should be the overarching goals of the Convention–to reduce smoking-related deaths and disease as rapidly and effectively as possible.

    “People who use safer nicotine products are barred and have no voice at the FCTC COP10. Those Parties who have successfully adopted and supported access to these products as effective tools for smoking cessation must ensure that their own progress is not hindered by COP decisions—and that the potential for tobacco harm reduction is given due consideration by all Parties present in Panama next month.”

  • KAC Explains COP

    KAC Explains COP

    Gerry Stimson | Photo courtesy of GNF

    Knowledge Action Change (KAC) has published a briefing to help policymakers, health officials and consumers better understand the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The 10th edition of this event, which normally takes place every two years, is scheduled for November in Panama.

    While decisions made at the conference are likely to significantly impact tobacco companies and their customers, industry representatives and organizations advocating for access to safer nicotine products have traditionally been barred from attending the event.

    As a result, tobacco harm reduction has been getting short rift at COP meetings despite the fact that the concept is an integral part of the FCTC.

    “Harm reduction is explicitly named as one of three tobacco control strategies in the opening lines of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, but at present, the indications are that COP10 is unlikely to result in any decisions that support consumer access to safer nicotine products,” said KAC Director Gerry Stimson in a statement.

    “Parties to the FCTC must seize the opportunity in Panama to consider evidence from countries where tobacco harm reduction is saving lives, including the U.K., New Zealand, Sweden, Norway and Japan—and ask why the WHO and its influential philanthropic funders are refusing to do the same.

    “With no media present, FCTC COP meetings are shrouded in a secrecy more akin to a U.N. Security Council meeting—and in direct contrast to other COP meetings, for example those on climate change. This briefing paper gives policymakers, health officials and consumers more insight into the processes of COP10 and the opportunity to engage more fully prior to and during the event in Panama,” said Stimson

  • Global Number of Vapers Jumps

    Global Number of Vapers Jumps

    Photo: eldarnurkovic

    The number of vapers has increased significantly worldwide, according to the latest research from the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR).

    A new peer-reviewed paper published this week in Drugs, Habits and Social Policy estimates there are now 82 million vapers worldwide. The GSTHR project, from the U.K. public health agency Knowledge Action Change (KAC), found that the 2021 figure represents a 20 percent on that for 2020.

    According to KAC, vaping is a significantly safer alternative to smoking. “Each year, there are 8 million smoking-related deaths worldwide,” the organization wrote in a press note. “The growth in the number of vapers, most of whom will have swapped smoking for vaping, is therefore a hugely positive step in efforts to reduce the harms of combustible cigarettes and hasten the end of smoking.”

    The new study comes shortly after the U.K. government announced its Swap to Stop scheme, which aims to give 1 million smokers a free vaping starter kit to help them quit smoking. According to KAC, the U.K.’s permissive vaping laws have helped drive smoking to its lowest level on record.

    “The U.K.’s support of vaping for tobacco harm reduction is in sharp contrast to the situation in many countries, however,” KAC wrote. “GSTHR data shows that vapes are banned in 36 countries, and in a further 84 countries there is a regulatory and legislative vacuum. Millions of smokers who want to switch to much safer vaping cannot do so, or may be forced to purchase potentially unsafe products on black or grey markets, due to bans, or poor or non-existent product regulation.”

    The updated Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction estimate suggests that there are now 82 million people worldwide who vape, proving that consumers find these products attractive.

    Gerry Stimson, director of KAC and emeritus professor at Imperial College London

    The GSTHR research shows that despite restrictive regulations or bans in many countries, increasing numbers of people are choosing to switch to safer alternatives to combustible tobacco. “Along with other countries like New Zealand, the U.K. offers strong evidence that positive government messaging about vaping for tobacco harm reduction can hasten reductions in smoking prevalence,” wrote KAC. “But an international meeting on tobacco control later this year could jeopardize global progress on reducing smoking-related death and disease through tobacco harm reduction,” the public health agency added, referring to the meeting of the parties to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control scheduled for November in Panama City.

    The WHO remains opposed to the use of safer nicotine products for smoking cessation, despite supporting harm reduction in other areas of public health such as substance use and HIV/AIDS prevention.

    “The updated Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction estimate suggests that there are now 82 million people worldwide who vape, proving that consumers find these products attractive,” said Gerry Stimson, director of KAC and emeritus professor at Imperial College London. “As evidenced in the U.K., millions are making the switch from smoking. Safer nicotine products give the world’s 1 billion smokers the chance to quit using alternatives that pose significantly fewer risks to their health.”

  • Paper Addresses Harm Reduction of Pouches

    Paper Addresses Harm Reduction of Pouches

    Knowledge-Action-Change (KAC) has published the latest in a series of briefing papers as part of its Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR) project.

    What are nicotine pouches? provides an overview of the latest information about the scientific evidence, market data, regulatory landscape and tobacco harm potential for this relatively new safer nicotine product, according to KAC.

    Nicotine pouches are thumbnail-sized sachets that are placed under the lip. They are made from vegetable fibers infused with nicotine and a range of flavors. Nicotine pouches are sometimes confused with Swedish snus, another safer nicotine product that was the subject of a previous GSTHR briefing paper. Both products are placed under the lip, but while Swedish snus contains tobacco, nicotine pouches do not contain any raw or processed tobacco leaves.

    As a new product category, the body of evidence examining their safety is still growing, but preliminary findings indicate that nicotine pouches offer people who use nicotine a significantly safer alternative to smoking.

    “This briefing paper aims to increase knowledge about, and awareness of, the tobacco harm reduction potential of nicotine pouches,” said Gerry Stimson, director of KAC and emeritus professor at Imperial College London. “Good quality information about the full range of different safer nicotine products is essential for consumers, policymakers and regulators.

    “Nicotine pouches could make a significant contribution to tobacco harm reduction. This is particularly the case for the more than 300 million people worldwide who use smokeless tobacco products, most of whom live in low-[income] and middle-income countries where health systems are less well-resourced to diagnose and treat noncommunicable diseases. High-risk oral tobacco products such as betel quid, paan or gutkha contain relatively high levels of carcinogenic and toxic compounds and increase the risk of oral, esophageal and pancreatic cancers. In contrast, nicotine pouches have been found to have a similar risk profile to nicotine replacement therapy.

    “Nicotine pouches may not yet be as widely used as nicotine vapes, but the global market for these products is already worth $1.5 billion. This provides good evidence that tobacco users find these products acceptable and will switch to them. In comparison to some other safer nicotine product categories, nicotine pouches are low cost and have minimal start-up and on-costs for consumers, meaning they offer significant hope to many low-[income] and middle-income countries where high-risk oral tobacco use is prevalent.”