Banning is a tired, proven and failed tobacco harm reduction intervention – experts

Around 1920, as new inventions and innovations were gaining momentum, the United States of America introduced the Prohibition Act, which banned the transportation of alcoholic beverages for beverage purposes in America. The ban came into force on January 17, 1920.

However, this ban did not stop the illegal alcohol trade, as crafty Americans invented ways to hide their alcohol from law enforcement. As a result, rather than solving the problems that led to it, the ban merely drove the alcohol industry underground, and Americans continued to consume alcohol throughout the 13 years of the ban.

While aversion to alcohol appears to have diminished over the decades, the same cannot be said for tobacco products. Between 1890 and 1927, the sale of cigarettes was banned virtually overnight in 15 different US states. Today, the tobacco industry continues to face retaliation and unjustified responses from governments around the world.

New nicotine products such as e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches and snus face an uncertain future in various parts of the world as governments continue to crack down on these products. Since then, at least 33 countries have banned the sale of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). Globally, as many as 121 countries or territories regulate ENDS, and 87 countries have implemented regulations such as age restrictions on sales, advertising bans and bans on vaping in public indoor spaces.

Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) advocates, physicians and public health experts who attended the just-concluded conference 7^vol The Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) New Products, Research and Policy Summit cautioned against implementing or banning new nicotine products.

Speech during a panel discussion entitled “Ban or regulation – where is the limit of public health?” Dr. Fernando Fernandez Bueno, a general surgeon in the Spanish army, said that banning novel and safer nicotine products would simply cause users of novel products to return to smoking combustible cigarettes.

“The fight against smoking must focus on the fight against burning cigarettes, which cause 63,000 deaths in Spain every year. Therefore, health authorities have an obligation to offer research-based solutions to smokers who cannot quit using traditional methods or do not want to stop using nicotine. future tobacco control plans must be based on scientific and empirical data rather than on personal judgments or preconceived ideas,” Dr. Bueno said.

Spain recently approved a new anti-smoking plan that will increase the number of places where smoking will be banned, introduce a sharp increase in taxes on tobacco products and put vapers in the same category as conventional smokers as a deterrent. There are currently over 9 million smokers in Spain.

Dr. Bueno added that there is a huge amount of scientific evidence showing the potential of THRs such as electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches, snus and heated tobacco.

“Any anti-tobacco debate that excludes science will only result in more than 9 million Spaniards continuing to smoke combustible cigarettes. Prevention and smoking cessation alone are not enough to significantly reduce high smoking rates because they do not provide a sufficient solution for those who are unable to quit using ordinary means.”

He also said that in recent years Spain had lost the leadership in the fight against smoking that the country gained almost two decades ago with the approval of an ambitious anti-tobacco law. Therefore, the new Ministry of Health has the opportunity to once again position Spain as a reference country in the fight against smoking. To achieve this, Dr. Bueno said the Tobacco Control Plan must focus on three key pillars. Science, building on international experiences and social histories, and strengthening prevention and cessation strategies through harm reduction.

Since then, Canada’s Health Minister has banned the sale of nicotine pouches in corner stores where alcohol is available. According to Ms. Maria Papaioannoy, spokesperson for Rights4Vapers, reducing tobacco harm means taking 10 steps back.

“Our current tobacco control model is built on the past. They don’t look to the future and want to stop innovation. Here in Canada, our current health minister has created legislation that gives him the authority to finish the job because he was also on tobacco control a few years ago,” Ms. Papaioannoy said.

She further stressed that Canada needs to learn from New Zealand and Sweden on how to create better regulations and move to the next level. According to data, 48,000 Canadians die every year from smoking-related diseases.

Dr. Sudhanshu Patwardhan, MD, nicotine expert and health tech entrepreneur from India, said there is a need to use scientific literature in policymaking and regulation.

“Science should be at the heart of all policy-making and decision-making. The boundary for public health must be where the consumers are,” Dr. Patwardhan said.

He added that regulation and policymaking is hard work and requires local regulatory science and enforcement capacity that is often lacking in most countries around the world.

“It also means that policymakers and regulators in these countries are highly susceptible to the influence of policies given by a handful of ideologically driven countries, without assessment and oversight, and in such a context a ban is seen as an easy way out due to a lack of local expertise and knowledge regarding regulations on tobacco products.”

Meanwhile, a very tough medical establishment has been created in Moldova, which opposes the ideas of harm reduction caused by tobacco smoking and supports the ideas of harm reduction only in the case of illegal drugs.

Dr. Eugeniu Cotelea, a Moldovan medical specialist in the field of addiction psychiatry, highlighted the difficulties and obstacles encountered in promoting THR in Moldova due to restrictive regulations and opposition from the medical community.

“In Moldova, when they hear the word ‘tobacco’, you become a public enemy. We have many prohibitions. Just a week ago, the parliament was debating a new law, which will be more restrictive than before. This bill will not only prohibit consumption, but will also prohibit the freedom of speech of patients, consumers and doctors,” Dr. Cotelea said.

David Sweanor, a Canadian lawyer and chair of the Advisory Board of the Center for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, said bans on free speech are promoted around the world and are extremely protective against the tobacco industry.