Does Tobacco Harm Reduction really work?
Yes. Over the last several decades a significant number of people in Sweden (predominantly men) replaced smoking cigarettes with “snus” (a Swedish smokeless tobacco product). What has become known as “The Swedish Experience” is not a result of any anti-smoking campaign, but rather an organic social process that resulted in a huge public health triumph.
Swedish men have a very low rate of cancer and other diseases attributed to smoking – the same rates you’d expect to see in a population that quit smoking. Evidence shows that the widespread use of smokeless tobacco is not causing any substantial disease risk. Similar trends are now being observed in Norway, and even the United States has seen a significant decline in adult and youth smoking as the popularity of vaping has increased.