How has tobacco harm reduction evolved?
Harm reduction as a way to support peers is often initiated by people who are directly affected by or involved in harmful behaviors, and It is not initiated by experts. Its development can be an organic and dynamic process. The concept of harm reduction emerged in the 1980s when society as a whole was busy dealing with the rise of HIV and AIDS among men who have sex with men, sex workers, and injecting drug users. The idea of harm reduction emerged in the 1980s when society as a whole was busy dealing with HIV from men having sex with men, sex workers, and injecting drug users. Initiators distributed condoms, sterile syringes, and advice on how to reduce the risk of infection. The groups were initially not helped by the government. These groups initially received no help from the government. Government officials, the media, society at large, and many health departments were hostile to They were viewed with hostility.
However, by the late 1980s, government officials and medical professionals in the United Kingdom began to recognize the potential benefits and cost-effectiveness of harm reduction measures. As a result, the spread of AIDS was successfully halted. Other countries have also seen significant declines in infection rates following harm reduction measures. This evidence demonstrates that harm reduction measures are feasible. Harm reduction is closely linked to the use of psychoactive substances (substances that alter mental states). Mood-altering products are common in all cultures and around the world, such as caffeine, tea, nicotine, snus, alcohol, marijuana, opium, tranquilizers, and psychoactive plants. Some substances are inherently risky, while others are risky because of the way they are ingested. For nicotine, the route of intake is critical to the level of risk.
Does continued nicotine use pose a problem?
Nicotine is on the WHO list of essential medicines because medical practitioners have been prescribing nicotine pouches and gum to patients trying to quit smoking for decades. Nicotine's effect on the brain is to induce regular intake, but it is a relatively low-risk substance that does not cause any of the health problems associated with cigarette smoke. The word "addiction" conjures up the worst-case scenario of chronic alcohol and other drug use. This is misleading. Addiction is usually defined as compulsive use and harm to oneself or others. Aside from its harms, what remains is an urge to use mild stimulants, similar to caffeine use.
How has tobacco harm reduction evolved?
The tobacco harm reduction concept can be traced back to a 1976 article by British tobacco researcher Michael Russell in the British Medical Journal. He recognized that people "smoke nicotine, but die from the E-liquid." Since then, several reports have explored the idea that the risk of nicotine smoking is greatly reduced by not burning tobacco, including the Institute of Medicine's 2001 report Clearing the Smoke: Assessing the Science Base for Tobacco Harm Reduction) iv and the Royal College of Physicians of London's 2007 report Harm reduction in nicotine addiction: helping people who can't quit.
Harm reduction is as much a political and social justice issue as it is a public health issue. International treaties clearly state that health is a universal right of people, and the United Nations recognizes that harm reduction for people who use drugs is part of the right to health. The 1.1 billion smokers worldwide have the same right to health as anyone else. A fundamental public health principle supported by the World Health Organization is that people should have the right to take control of their health to enjoy a healthier life. Tobacco harm reduction is a prime example of how people can take control of their health by choosing safer methods of nicotine use.
Tobacco harm reduction is one of the three pillars of tobacco control. The international tobacco treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), was enacted in 2005 to address the increasingly significant transnational attributes of tobacco companies through cooperation among countries to develop measures to control tobacco production and use. consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke to improve population health." (Emphasis added).
The FCTC does not define harm reduction, but officials who drafted the convention realized that products could be developed that would significantly reduce the risk to nicotine consumers and those around them. The FCTC also declared that tobacco control measures are dynamic and should be "based on the status quo and take into account relevant scientific, technical and economic factors.The FCTC also declared that tobacco control measures are dynamic and should be "based on the status quo and take into account relevant scientific, technical and economic factors.
The FCTC was enacted before many safer nicotine products were available. New SNPs are developed and marketed by commercial companies, most of whom are not traditional tobacco companies. Most of them are not traditional tobacco companies. E-cigarette products were first developed by China's high-tech electronics industry.
Many perennial opponents of the tobacco industry falsely claim that tobacco harm reduction is nothing more than a ruse by the industry to lure young people into a lifelong dependence on nicotine. In addition to this vocalization, they have launched an organized, financially supported global resistance campaign that seeks to undermine the growing evidence base for tobacco harm reduction and the role it plays in helping adult smokers quit. The campaign's primary goal is to create a moral panic about e-cigarette smoking among young people, primarily in the United States, despite data released by the U.S. government showing that the rate of e-cigarette smoking among young people has declined dramatically. In fact, in an annual survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2019 to 2021, the number of high school students who reported having used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days dropped by 59 percent. Currently, the World Health Organization does not endorse tobacco harm reduction but endorses harm reduction measures in many other areas of public health.
