Nicotine / THR - Change the Conversation

The war to end smoking has turned into the war on nicotine.

The focus has been lost, and who the "winners" and "losers" will be has changed. It is now Tobacco Control (TC) and Public Health (PH) vs. Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR). Caught in the middle are consumers who smoke, consumers who used to smoke, and industry stakeholders. AS TC/PH fights THR with both sides trying to "win" against the other, the world has forgotten the real "winners" and "losers". People who succeed at quitting smoking are the only real winners in this battle. People who die from smoking are the only losers in this fight that we all should be concerned about. It is time to #ChangeTheConversation. For TC/PH and THR to sit down and talk real solutions. Work on ways to limit initiation of smoking while keeping Safer Nicotine (THR) products on the market for adults who smoke.

We all need to listen to the people and orgs below, who have put out the call to Change The Conversation.

Current Tobacco Control / Public Health Individuals

2021, Mar 4 - Cliff Douglas Manifesto: It is Time to Act with Integrity and End the Internecine Warfare Over E-Cigarettes

• "I urge all of us in the tobacco control community to climb out of the bunker, come to the table, and try to genuinely work together. Stop skirting the truth when it feels inconvenient and open your minds and ears to all of the science that is before us. But the same goes for my other community, with whom I agree regarding the evidence-based promise of THR, but which also bears some responsibility for the adversarial nature of the relationship and for not consistently acknowledging areas of ambiguity or concern, including significant rates of experimentation with vaping by youth and youth-oriented marketing by some segments of the vaping industry. We won’t come together if we don’t come together."

Tobacco Harm Reduction Organisations

2020: ACTIVISTS, HEALTH WORKERS CALL FOR TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION

• Human rights activists and health workers in Uganda have embarked on a Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) campaign aimed at reducing or minimizing harm or risks suffered by people and communities as a result of using tobacco products.
• He stressed that the THR advocacy is not going to fight or conflict with the on going government programs, but to raise an intellectual conversation seeking a deeper understanding of THR and nicotine.

Tobacco Industry

2019: Philip Morris International: time for a new conversation

"By demonising a company that is doing exactly as the Editors demand, we might never know exactly how much of an opportunity a tobacco harm-reduction strategy will bring to public health. The only losers if this happens will be the men and women who continue to smoke."

• Written by: Marian Salzman
• PDF Version