Public Health Experts: WHO Should Take A Correct View Of E-cigarettes And Incorporate Harm Reduction Strategies Into Tobacco Control Policies

On November 16, 2021, the WHO released the Fourth Global Tobacco Trends Report, stating that under effective tobacco control measures, great achievements have been made in combating the tobacco epidemic. However, this report ignores harm reduction products such as e-cigarettes. It was immediately dissatisfied and criticized by some experts and scholars.

Gerry Stimson, an honorary professor at Imperial College London, director of the Global Tobacco Harm Reduction Project, and public health expert, said in a public statement that the WHO is distorting information, but it does not care about the current health of smokers. At the same time, WHO’s tobacco control policy has never considered the harm reduction potential of low-risk products (such as e-cigarettes), which is very distressing.

According to data from the Fourth Global Tobacco Trends Report, there are currently 1.3 billion smokers worldwide, compared with 1.32 billion in 2015. It is estimated that by 2025, this number will drop to 1.27 billion. However, in Gerry Stimson’s view, although the number of smokers has declined, this cannot be used as evidence of successful tobacco control.

“There are still 8 million people who die from smoking-related diseases every year. This report ignores the facts and reveals evidence of the negligence of public health organizations.” Gerry Stimson said, “We now have safer nicotine products, such as E-cigarettes, heat-not-burn products, etc., should control smoking more quickly.”

In fact, harm reduction is the third pillar of the tobacco control strategy proposed by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and it is as important as reducing supply and demand.

The Global Tobacco Harm Reduction Project has estimated that the number of smokers using e-cigarettes and other harm reduction products worldwide is 100 million. Compared with the current number of smokers, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

In fact, many authoritative organizations, including the Department of Public Health, the National Academy of Sciences, and the School of Medicine, have confirmed that cigarette users switching to e-cigarettes can significantly reduce harm, and e-cigarettes can also effectively assist smokers to quit smoking. However, the WHO turned a blind eye to these scientific evidence.

Gerry Stimson believes that it is precisely because the WHO and other tobacco control organizations distort public health information and spread false knowledge to the outside world that many smokers are unwilling to use these products to quit smoking. “These institutions don’t seem to care about the current health of smokers at all.” Gerry Stimson said.

At the end of the speech, Gerry Stimson stated that he would urge the WHO to incorporate harm reduction strategies into its tobacco control policies, and to use harm reduction strategies to make up for the deficiencies of the current tobacco control policies, adding more strategies such as encouraging smokers to switch to safer nicotine products, and providing accurate information about safer alternatives.