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Tag: harm reduction

  • Opinion: WHO Wants 9x More Money to Control Tobacco. Don’t Pay!

    Opinion: WHO Wants 9x More Money to Control Tobacco. Don’t Pay!

    In an opinion piece published today (November 19) by The Kingston Whig Standard in Canada titled The WHO Wants Nine Times More Money to Control Tobacco. Don’t Pay!, economics professor Ian Irvine criticizes the World Health Organization’s COP11 for pursuing what he calls “nicotine authoritarianism” and seeking an 800% budget increase to eliminate nicotine use.

    “The WHO’s tobacco budget is just over $1 billion, much of it provided by a normally wonderful philanthropist, Michael Bloomberg,” Irvine writes. “But the WHO has been advertising it really needs $9 billion to do its job properly: eliminate nicotine use.

    “The WHO does not need this money. Regarding nicotine, it is a reactionary organization. It refuses to recognize the benefits of ‘new generation products’: e-cigarettes, oral pouches, and heated tobacco products.”

    The piece contends that WHO and many advocacy groups wrongly demonize NGPs, treating them as dangerous as cigarettes, while smoking rates are already plummeting in developed countries. Irvine urges harm-reduction strategies instead of prohibition,

    Irvine, who has had research funded by Global Action to End Smoking, concludes that empowering adults to choose reduced-risk products would accelerate declines in smoking, save lives, and expose the WHO’s restrictive approach as more about sustaining bureaucracy than advancing public health.

    “The challenge for scientists is twofold: speaking up for harm reduction at COP11, even at the risk of verbal bludgeoning by the sinecured interest groups,” Irvine wrote, “and continuing the struggle domestically against a dominant culture policed by self-appointed moral guardians whose harassment of all forms of nicotine serves primarily to delay more smokers’ transition to low-toxicity products.

    “As smoking declines dramatically … we could start distributing pink slips at the WHO.”

  • Expert Urges Nigeria to Embrace THR for Health, Economy

    Expert Urges Nigeria to Embrace THR for Health, Economy

    Nigeria could become a hub for Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) product development and export, supporting economic diversification and public health, says Professor Nnanyelugo Martin Ike‑Muonso of ValueFronteira Ltd., stressing that a balanced regulatory framework would protect minors, ensure product quality, and promote responsible marketing, unlocking both health and economic benefits for the country.

    In Nigeria, the 2015 Tobacco Control Act regulates traditional tobacco but does not cover alternative nicotine products, creating regulatory gaps that allow illicit trade and hinder public health progress. Ike‑Muonso argues that structured THR regulation could boost MSME entrepreneurship, generate tax revenue, and expand Nigeria’s non-oil industrial base, while aligning the country with global best practices.

    Ike‑Muonso points to global evidence that shows THR strategies have driven record declines in smoking rates in countries such as the UK, New Zealand, Japan, and Norway. Adult smoking in the UK dropped to 12.9% in 2022, while Norway’s daily smoking rate fell to 7% in 2023, largely due to regulated alternative nicotine products.

  • Healthcare Advocate Pleads for FCTC to Adopt THR

    Healthcare Advocate Pleads for FCTC to Adopt THR

    In advance of COP11 beginning November 17 in Geneva, South African healthcare consultant Professor Praneet Valodia, the director of Praneet Valodia Consulting, circulated a call for COP11 to adopt evidence-based, transformative policies, including the inclusion of tobacco harm reduction in global tobacco control frameworks. Valodia urged for the creation of independent scientific committees to review the evidence on non-combustible nicotine products and recommended that consumer experiences and expert opinions be considered in policy deliberations. He stressed that the COP should support local policymaking, provide reliable information to users, and align with Article 1d of the FCTC to meaningfully improve public health outcomes.

    “I am hoping that COP11 will bring about transformative change in assisting over a billion smokers throughout the world,” he wrote. “There is a lack of evidence in South Africa to show a reduction in cigarette smoking because of interventions promoted in the FCTC. Considering the low adoption of the interventions in the FCTC and MPOWER measures, and the fact that the global smoking trends have not changed substantially after the FCTC’s adoption in 2003, it is time for tobacco harm reduction to become even more important.”

    Valodia criticized past FCTC policies for their limited impact, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where conventional measures have not reduced smoking prevalence and often fail to address socio-economic realities.

  • ‘Science Must Lead Policy,’ Say South African Harm-Reduction Experts

    ‘Science Must Lead Policy,’ Say South African Harm-Reduction Experts

    Health and policy leaders at the Progressive Business Forum (PBF) Colloquium on Wellness and Healthy Lifestyles in South Africa called for a science-driven approach to public health, urging the government to prioritize harm reduction over ideology. Former Gauteng Health MEC Dr Gwen Ramokgopa said South Africa must extend harm reduction principles—long used in HIV prevention and road safety—to emerging health risks such as tobacco and substance use. “Harm reduction is not permissiveness, it’s progress,” she said, noting that public health must help people make safer choices rather than impose moral judgments.

    Dr Percy Selepe, Acting COO of the Gauteng Department of Health, said “science must lead policy.” He and other speakers argued that South Africa’s punitive, abstinence-based approach has failed to curb smoking and substance use. Harm reduction advocates, including Professor Monique Marks, criticized the lack of government funding for evidence-based interventions, noting that all existing programs are run by non-profits. Marks stressed that switching from combustible cigarettes to regulated smoke-free products could dramatically reduce health risks and ease the burden on the healthcare system.

    Professors Obedy Mwantembe and Tivani Mashamba-Thompson called for African-led research into nicotine science and integrated harm reduction services addressing HIV and Hepatitis C. They emphasized that compassion and science must work hand in hand to reduce stigma and improve outcomes. If Gauteng’s evidence-first stance becomes national policy, speakers said, South Africa could modernize its public health strategy — replacing bans and punishment with regulation, education, and empathy. “Better health contributes to positive growth,” Ramokgopa said. “Collaboration between science, policy, and society is not optional — it’s essential.”

  • Ireland to Introduce Europe’s Highest Vape Tax

    Ireland to Introduce Europe’s Highest Vape Tax

    Beginning November 1, the Irish government will impose a new €0.50 per milliliter tax on all vaping e-liquids—regardless of nicotine content—making it the highest vape tax in the European Union. The measure comes alongside planned restrictions on flavors, packaging, advertising, and disposable vapes. Officials say the tax aims to curb youth vaping and strengthen prevention efforts following Ireland’s 2023 ban on vape sales to minors. However, public health and harm reduction advocates argue the policy will backfire, driving consumers toward the black market and undermining Ireland’s stalled “Tobacco Free Ireland” goal of reducing smoking to below 5% by 2025.

    Advocates from the New Nicotine Alliance Ireland (NNAI) warn the new tax will make quitting smoking harder for low-income groups, with prices for a typical 10ml e-liquid expected to triple from €3 to €9. They argue vaping has been a key tool in helping smokers quit—38% of quitters in Ireland reportedly used vapes—yet misinformation and punitive taxes have reversed progress. Addiction specialist Dr. Garrett McGovern criticized the policy for equating vaping’s risks with those of smoking, calling it “a dreadful public health policy.” Research shows that vape restrictions and higher costs often lead to increased smoking rates, a trend advocates fear could repeat in Ireland if affordability and access continue to shrink.

  • Philippine Harm Reduction Advocates Push for Smoke-Free Future

    Philippine Harm Reduction Advocates Push for Smoke-Free Future

    Advocates of tobacco harm reduction in the Philippines signed a joint manifesto Wednesday (October 15) calling for multi-sectoral collaboration and greater access to science-based alternatives to help reduce smoking-related harm. The signing, held in Mandaluyong City, brought together representatives from groups including the Nicotine Consumers Union of the Philippines (NCUP), Smokefree Conversations PH, Quit for Good, and the Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association.

    The manifesto urged policymakers to empower adult smokers with better choices rather than continuing to rely solely on tobacco products, describing harm reduction as a “lifeline” for those unable to quit. It also called for the defense of the country’s Vape Law (RA 11900) that regulates vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products as a legitimate public health measure.

    Advocates said adult smoking rates rose to 23.3% in 2023, underscoring the need for alternatives. NCUP founder Anton Israel emphasized the importance of educating the public about the difference between traditional tobacco and vaping products, adding that while vaping is not risk-free, it can be a less harmful step toward quitting smoking.

  • Harm Reduction ‘Should be Wake-Up Call’ for Policymakers

    Harm Reduction ‘Should be Wake-Up Call’ for Policymakers

    At the 2025 Asia Forum on Nicotine, Prof. Dr. Rohan Sequeira, Consultant Cardio Endocrinologist, warned that Asia remains the epicenter of the global tobacco epidemic, home to over half of the world’s 1 billion smokers and responsible for 4 million tobacco-related deaths each year. He said traditional control measures—taxation, warning labels, and public campaigns—have done little to reverse rising smoking rates in South and Southeast Asia. What the region needs, he argued, is not more prohibition but a science-based harm reduction approach that recognizes medical evidence.

    “It’s the combustion of tobacco or the use of unprocessed tobacco which causes 7,000 toxic chemicals,” Dr. Sequeira said, emphasizing that nicotine, though addictive, is not the chief cause of tobacco-related disease. “Most of the policies for tobacco harm reduction have been based on good medical science behind it.”

    Presenting data-driven projections, Dr. Sequeira called for urgent policy reform, stating that if China alone were to adopt a national harm reduction framework, up to 30 million lives could be saved over 30 years. He urged policymakers and the medical community to see harm reduction as a moral and scientific imperative. “This should be a wake-up call to policymakers,” he said. “We are fighting the good fight. We’re looking at harm reduction, and we’re looking for people to have a better quality of life.”

  • Australia’s Tobacco Policies Spark Harm and Chaos, Industry Expert Says

    Australia’s Tobacco Policies Spark Harm and Chaos, Industry Expert Says

    In a candid keynote at the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF), Theo Foukkare, CEO of the Australian Association of Convenience Stores, delivered a scathing assessment of Australia’s tobacco and nicotine policies, saying the country is saddled with “harm and chaos.” Speaking under the theme “The Australian Experience: From Global Leader to Global Failure,” Foukkare outlined how once-successful public health strategies had collapsed under the weight of excessive taxation, poor enforcement, and the rise of organized crime.

    “Australia has become the model of what not to do. By any measure, it’s an absolute failure,” he said. “And believe it or not, our government still claims to have world-leading standards. We’re dealing with an absolute tsunami of illegal nicotine products entering the country. I call it ‘Tobacco Wars.’ It’s actually playing out in real life every day. The illegal nicotine market is now bigger than the next five organized crime categories combined.

    “Through bad policy, we’re actually creating harm,” he said, noting that smoking rates have remained virtually unchanged in the past decade despite mounting taxes and restrictions.

    “We had the most aggressive excise policy any government in the world had undertaken,” Foukkare said, with a legal pack of cigarettes now costing between $45 and $50. “They killed the golden goose, because the consumers said, “Enough is enough. Why would I pay this when there are cheaper options?”

    According to Foukkare, Australia’s extreme excise policies pushed consumers to the black market, eroding legal sales and fueling criminal activity. Organized crime groups, he added, have even begun taking over farms to grow illicit tobacco, while state governments scramble to form task forces.

    “There’s so much threat and intimidation,” he said. “Some store owners are paying $5,000 a month in protection money. Pay or they’ll burn your shop down. One store owner got a handwritten note saying he needed to meet with the [crime] boss. He took the note to the police, the next day, a car drove through the front of the store, and now it’s closed.”

    Foukkare criticized the government for ignoring early warnings about policy failures and dismissing data because it was industry-funded. Now, with estimates suggesting up to 60% of tobacco consumption is illicit, officials are finally acknowledging the scale of the problem. Foukkare also condemned the government’s anti-vaping stance, arguing that public messaging has convinced most Australians that vaping is more dangerous than smoking.

    Despite the creation of new penalties—million-dollar fines, landlord accountability clauses, and police powers to shut down stores—Foukkare said the measures have done little to fix the underlying issue. “We’ve spent a billion dollars and haven’t done anything to reduce smoking or keep people safe,” he said.

  • Clive Bates: WHO Using Tobacco’s History to Poison Good Science

    Clive Bates: WHO Using Tobacco’s History to Poison Good Science

    In a forceful keynote at the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF) in Brussels, Clive Bates, Director of Counterfactual, called for a fundamental reset in global tobacco control policy, arguing that current frameworks such as the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) have failed to adapt to innovation and evidence.

    “Prevalence is falling, but the global population is rising,” Bates said. “That means the total number of smokers is still going up — and so are the 7.5 million deaths each year caused by smoking.” He emphasized that quitting smoking at any age provides significant health benefits, but argued that international tobacco control remains stuck in the past. “The mission hasn’t changed — stop people from smoking — but the methods are outdated. We have new tools, and ignoring them is indefensible.”

    Bates described alternative nicotine products such as vaping, heated tobacco, and smokeless options as “the disruption the FCTC never anticipated.” He pointed to Sweden’s success as proof of concept: “Sweden has higher nicotine use than Germany but lower cancer rates. That’s what harm reduction looks like.” Yet, he criticized the European Union for maintaining its ban on snus — the very product that helped Sweden virtually eliminate smoking. “What if, instead of banning snus, we promoted it?” he asked. “Why are we still doing things that contradict our stated public health goals?”

    Turning his critique toward the WHO, Bates condemned the organization’s stance that there is “no evidence” reduced-risk products are safer than cigarettes. “That’s shocking,” he said. “Harm reduction is being dismissed as a tobacco industry ploy, using the industry’s reputation to poison good science.”

    He argued that the FCTC has institutionalized a “toxic” anti-industry bias that blocks collaboration and progress. “If the tobacco industry likes it, it must be bad — that’s the logic codified into policy. There’s no room for alignment with that attitude,” he said. Bates noted that several major companies have already shifted dramatically — “PMI now earns 41% of its revenue from smoke-free products” — yet the global framework continues to punish rather than encourage transformation.

    “The WHO gave an award to a man in India for banning reduced-harm products in a country with 100 million smokers,” Bates said. “That’s not leadership — that’s negligence.”

    He concluded with a clear call to action: “If you want better outcomes, get the smoking rate down as fast as possible. The demand for nicotine won’t disappear, but we can make it vastly safer — and we can do it without coercion. Let consumers make informed choices. That’s how we save lives.”

  • Harm Reduction is a Race Where Everyone Can Win

    Harm Reduction is a Race Where Everyone Can Win

    Deborah Binks-Moore, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Imperial Brands, delivered an optimistic yet pragmatic keynote at GTNF, urging governments, regulators, and industry leaders to work together to accelerate global harm reduction. Binks-Moore described the moment as an “inflection point” in the global effort to reduce smoking, noting that next-generation products have moved from niche to mainstream in only a few years.

    “Just a few years ago, next-generation products were a small part of the market. Now they are becoming mainstream,” she said. “Our journey to reduce smoking must place the consumer at the heart of everything we do.”

    She celebrated the rapid progress made by the industry but cautioned that success brings new challenges.

    “Our very success is now creating fresh challenges, which will require fresh thinking,” she said. Drawing parallels with other sectors in transition—such as energy—she encouraged policymakers to heed lessons from those industries: transformation succeeds only when science, regulation, and innovation align.

    “Tobacco harm reduction has the potential to prevent the premature deaths of many millions of lives over the long term,” she said. “This means we need an equally long-term approach to policymaking. We need people from different political traditions to work together. We need regulators to collaborate with responsible industry players. And we need central governments to partner closely with local administrations.”

    She called on policymakers in Brussels, WHO delegates, and regulators worldwide to develop “enforceable, sustainable frameworks” built on facts, science, and shared principles.

    Binks-Moore urged all stakeholders—policymakers, scientists, and business leaders alike—to begin with the individual consumer. “We need to understand and respect them for who they are, not who we wish them to be,” she said. “If we follow these principles, harm reduction is a race where everyone can win.”