Millions of consumers are switching from combustible cigarettes to safer nicotine products like e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and oral nicotine pouches despite anti-vaping campaigns, tobacco harm reduction advocates said at a recent global forum.
“An extraordinary number of people do learn that nicotine isn’t what’s causing the problem,” said David Sweanor, an adjunct professor of law at the University of Ottawa. “They do learn that there’s huge differentials in risks. And they do learn that these organizations are misleading them.” Sweanor has a 40-year career in tobacco control and law.
The market for cigarette alternatives has grown into a $350 billion global industry, according to Harry Shapiro, executive editor of the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction report. “Over 120 million people worldwide, mainly in high-income countries, now use safer nicotine products,” he said.
THR advocates said these new technologies offer smokers less harmful alternatives that could prevent millions of deaths annually because they don’t produce smoke, which contains toxic substances. Growing scientific evidence from reputable public health institutions concludes that nicotine is not the cause of smoking-related diseases. Instead, burning tobacco creates thousands of toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other deadly diseases, THR advocates said.
The United Kingdom’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities determined in its “current series of evidence reviews about the health harms of vaping by leading independent tobacco experts” that vaping is 95-percent less harmful than smoking.
Sweanor questioned the World Health Organization’s denial of the potential for harm reduction through less harmful alternatives like e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and oral nicotine pouches.
“How do you deny all these people who’ve been able to quit and move over to these products?” he asked during the Global Forum on Nicotine in Warsaw, Poland. “You’ve never seen anything like that with any nicotine replacement therapy. And why aren’t we studying that?”
“It sort of feels like they don’t care,” he said. “It’s not true for consumers. The consumers themselves are moving. They’re learning about this. They’re seeing the benefits personally. So they’re way ahead of where many of the anti-nicotine people are. They’re the ones who push for the change. They’re the ones who see the benefits.”
Sweanor said the assumption that new technologies carry unknown risks drives much of the debate. “This has often amplified the levels that overshadow the dangers of known risks,” he said. “This is what we’ve always dealt with, with innovation. I think the fact that we’re seeing so much progress, that consumers themselves are moving, that the politicians are going to have to follow that. Because otherwise all they do is lose credibility. The way that’s now happening with WHO.”
He said consumers are leading the shift, seeking out and experiencing the benefits of these alternatives.
“Anti-nicotine groups often rely on sloganeering instead of data,” he said. “They prioritize abstinence-only approaches, potentially sacrificing the health of millions of smokers who could switch to safer options.”
Sweanor compared the rapid change in the nicotine industry to the rise of mobile phones. He emphasized the need for regulations that acknowledge both innovation and potential risks.
“Even with all the obstructions, consumers are moving to these products,” he said. “Even in countries that have tried to ban them and ban them harder. These products are still reducing cigarette smoking. So we’re seeing consumers move. The market’s moving. It’s unstoppable. You’re not going to stop innovation.”
Sweanor slammed anti-vaping groups for prioritizing slogans over data-driven approaches. “They’re saying that all we’re concerned about is young people, meaning you’re willing to write off the lives of hundreds of millions of adults in order to try to prevent a young person from using nicotine, which itself has very low risk,” he said.
“Even if you’re only concerned about the young people, even if we accept that abhorrent view that you’re willing to sacrifice the lives of hundreds of millions of fellow human beings, what about the young people? How many of those young people are now going to smoke cigarettes instead of vaping? How many of them are going to get sick and die because of that?”
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