Public health experts: Tobacco harm reduction is the future of pure nicotine

 Public health experts: Tobacco harm reduction is the future of pure nicotine

Blue Hole New Consumer Report, January 5 news, according to foreign news reports, Jonathan Foulds, professor of public health science and psychiatry and co-director of the Center for Tobacco and Health Research at Pennsylvania State University, was at the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF) In the previous speech, he said that nicotine is addictive. Most people who smoked 60 cigarettes will become daily smokers. Middle-aged smokers have an average of 20 serious quit attempts.

In addition, after deciding to quit smoking, ordinary smokers still have a 95% chance of smoking a year later. Even if they consult and use FDA-approved smoking cessation drugs, they still have an 80% chance of smoking again within a year.

Foulds said people smoke because of the psychological effects of nicotine, but inhaling combustible tobacco can have health effects. In order to reduce the harm of nicotine consumption, regulators should pay attention to how to make smokers switch to lower-risk nicotine intake.

He said: "If it weren't because tobacco contains nicotine, people would not be more inclined to smoke than blowing bubbles. Blowing bubbles is fun, but no one wants to blow 20 times a day in a lifetime. Nicotine is the key to people smoking."

Although nicotine is addictive, cigarette consumption in the United States has been declining for the past 20 years. Since 1997, cigarette consumption has fallen by more than 50%. This is equivalent to reducing the sales of about 200 billion cigarettes each year since 1997, and now more people in the United States are starting to quit smoking. Foulds said that there is also evidence that in the past few years, with the increasing popularity of steam products, the decline in cigarette sales has been accelerating.

At the same time, the smoking rate among young people has dropped sharply. In the 1970s, an average of 30% of high school students smoked. In 1995, this number dropped to 25%. Today, less than 2% of high school students smoke.

"The large-scale cigarette sales that the tobacco industry has become accustomed to are obviously coming to an end. I mean, the end of the cigarette industry is just around the corner. What I am trying to make many people from the tobacco industry understand here is that we may be at a turning point. At this turning point, the situation will be much better, rather than just fighting (regulatory agencies). In fact, accepting this situation will happen to cigarettes sooner or later. Going ahead and accepting it may be a smarter strategy."

Foulds said cigarette manufacturers must promote low-risk nicotine intake in order to survive. Low-nicotine cigarettes are an example of how manufacturers can help people buy other products, such as electronic cigarettes.

He said: "There are now almost a dozen studies that fairly consistently show that compensation for smoking is really not what happens to this type of cigarette. Smokers soon realize that they can swallow as they please, but they can't get it from it. Any satisfactory nicotine content."

Some studies have shown that smokers are more likely to switch to products such as e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn systems to obtain the nicotine they crave.

Foulds pointed out that e-cigarettes are not without health risks, but they may be far less harmful than combustible tobacco cigarettes. More and more evidences show that compared with traditional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes contain fewer toxic substances, and the content is also lower.

Foulds said that if regulatory agencies allow e-cigarettes and other products with high nicotine content and low hazards to remain on the market, many current smokers are very likely to reduce smoking, quit smoking or switch to products with low toxicity, thereby improving the overall public health The situation has been substantially improved.

He said: "Now is the time for the major cigarette manufacturers to support reducing the nicotine content in combustibles, because this may be the best opportunity for them to continue to operate in 2030."