Safer Nicotine Alternatives Are Transforming Public Health New Report

• • International experts urge policymakers to embrace harm reduction ahead of WHO tobacco summit

STOCKHOLM – A landmark new report by international health experts reveals how safer nicotine alternatives are slashing smoking rates, preventing disease and saving lives across the world – and calls on policymakers at the WHO's forthcoming global tobacco summit to embrace harm reduction as a proven strategy to accelerate the end of smoking.

The report, The Safer Nicotine Revolution: Global Lessons, Healthier Futures , highlights the real-world success stories of four countries that have integrated safer alternatives into their public health approach:

Sweden has cut smoking to just 5.3 percent , the lowest in Europe, by making snus and nicotine pouches widely accessible. Swedish men now have 61 percent lower lung cancer rates than the EU average, and overall cancer deaths are a third lower. Without smoke-free alternatives, smoking-related male mortality would have been 70 percent higher. Sweden is now poised to become the world's first officially smoke-free nation, saving an estimated 3,000 lives every year.

Japan has halved its cigarette sales since the introduction of heated tobacco products a decade ago. Smoking prevalence dropped from 21 to 16 percent, and health modelling suggests switching just half of smokers to heated tobacco could prevent 12 million cases of smoking-related disease.

The United Kingdom has integrated vaping into NHS quit-smoking services , with smoking rates falling from 20.2 percent in 2011 to 11.9 percent today. Around 5.5 million adults now vape, more than half of whom have quit smoking entirely. Vaping is projected to prevent 166,000 premature deaths by 2052, while real-world data already show declines in cardiovascular deaths, cancer mortality, COPD cases and smoking-related hospital admissions.

New Zealand halved its smoking rate in just six years after legalising and promoting vaping and heated tobacco, while vaping prevalence rose more than fourfold. Almost 80 percent of daily vapers are ex-smokers. COPD hospitalisations have fallen nearly 30 percent, smoking-related cardiovascular deaths are down 20 percent, and biomarker modelling projects a gain of 195,000 quality-adjusted life years for the population.

“These figures make one thing clear: safer nicotine alternatives are saving lives today,” said Dr Delon Human, leader of Smoke Free Sweden and co-author of the report, which comes ahead of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control conference (COP11) in Geneva in November, when governments from around the world meet to shape global tobacco policy.

“COP11 is a moment of truth. If Parties adopt harm reduction within the framework of the FCTC, millions of lives could be saved worldwide. This report should be essential reading for every policymaker in Geneva.”

Fellow author Dr Marewa Glover, a leading New Zealand-based tobacco control researcher, said:“Our report shows that if you make safer nicotine alternatives accessible, acceptable and affordable, smokers will switch – and the result is healthier lives.

“We're already seeing fewer hospitalisations for lung disease, fewer cardiovascular deaths and longer life expectancy in countries that embrace safer nicotine alternatives. This is the true measure of success, and it's a lesson the world should learn from.”

The post Safer nicotine alternatives are transforming public health – new report appeared first on Caribbean News Global .

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