BY EU STUDIO

Updated Thursday,28July2022-12:07

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Quitting tobacco use requires changes in habits whose toll not everyone who tries can afford.

The other side is that of those who, even knowing the harmful effects of this habit, decide to continue smoking.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that today there are still more than 1,000 million smokers in the world and by 2025, this organization estimates that this figure will remain practically unchanged.

If an adult smoker tries to remember their first puff, the one that marked the beginning of their relationship with cigarettes, most will go back many years before.

And you will probably see that, for decades, the gesture of taking the cigarette out of the pack, looking for the lighter, lighting it and inhaling the smoke, has accompanied him in many moments of his life.

According to April 2022 data published by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), 19.7% of Spaniards smoke every day.

This places Spain as the ninth country in the EU with the highest rate of daily cigarette consumers.

For its part, the Observatory of the Spanish Association Against Cancer (Aecc) puts the number of smokers in Spain at 8.8 million.

Spread all over the planet, there are 1,300 million, according to the WHO.

The Aecc also ensures that confinement reduced the number of smokers in Spain by 9%, but in 2021 that slowdown was 0.1%.

The consequences of smoking on health are there and are already known, however, the fact is that there is still a large percentage of the adult population for whom both prevention policies (not starting to smoke) and cessation policies (quit smoking) have not had an effect.

Not starting to use tobacco or nicotine products and, in your case, quitting is always the best option.

But those adults who are going to continue smoking and who choose to continue this habit, should know that there is an alternative route: switch completely to alternatives with nicotine, but without smoke, which, although not innocuous, have been scientifically proven to be a better option. compared to cigarette.

SMOKE-FREE PRODUCTS: THE IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION

Smoke is the great culprit of the evils caused by smoking as it contains more than 6,000 chemical substances, of which about 100 are considered harmful to health.

Smoke-free products eliminate combustion and therefore do not burn and do not produce that toxic smoke.

These products mostly involve the inhalation of nicotine, which, although addictive and not without risk, is not the main cause of smoking-related illnesses.

By avoiding combustion, these alternatives have been identified by health authorities and public health organizations at the international level as tools through which the damage caused by smoking could be reduced.

This means being able to reduce the harm of an activity that carries a risk for those who decide to continue with it.

Smoke-free products eliminate combustion and therefore do not burn and do not produce that toxic smoke.

In this sense, smokeless alternatives - such as tobacco heating products or electronic cigarettes - play in this league.

Smoking - and therefore burning tobacco and inhaling its smoke - is the most harmful way of consuming any tobacco or nicotine product.

For this reason, switching those adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke to these smokeless options may help reduce harm in general and the number of current adult smokers in particular.

Information is power.

An international survey conducted by the independent consultant Povaddo for Philip Morris International[1] reveals that a third of adult smokers do not switch to a better alternative due to confusion about them.

Another relevant fact is that 91% of smokers who changed cigarettes for another alternative and quit smoking considered it very helpful to have precise information on the differences between cigarettes and smoke-free alternatives.

Finally, almost 80% of those surveyed defend that adult smokers who are going to continue with their habit should have access to these other smoke-free alternatives and also stress the importance of information.

That misinformation is always a risk can be seen in the fight against smoking.

According to the same study by Povaddo, just over half of adults are aware of the health effects of nicotine[2].

In addition, only 41% of those surveyed know that the high level of toxic chemicals (19%) or tar (22%) generated by burning tobacco are largely responsible for smoking-related diseases.

Finally, nearly half of those surveyed mistakenly believe that e-cigarettes are more or just as harmful as traditional options.

It is evident that it is necessary to improve adult smokers' access to truthful information based on scientific evidence so that they can make informed decisions.

HARM REDUCTION: THE THIRD WAY AGAINST SMOKING

In addition to the traditional prevention and cessation policies mentioned above, more and more countries are supporting the complementary role that these smokeless alternatives can play for those smokers unable to quit.

For example, the United Kingdom has promoted a strict regulation against cigarettes in its territory, but the health authorities do not reject smokeless alternatives.

Switching adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke to these smokeless options may help reduce harm overall.

In the United States, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already gave its approval to the promotion of smokeless alternatives to cigarettes in 2017. A year earlier, in 2016, Philip Morris International submitted its heating product for review by the FDA. tobacco.

In 2020, the FDA authorized its marketing as a "Modified Risk Tobacco Product", which means that, after reviewing all the scientific evidence for this product, the agency acknowledges that the data presented by the company demonstrates that "the marketing of these particular products with the licensed information could help addicted adult smokers to quit combustion cigarettes"[3].

Scientific studies have shown that substituting any smokeless alternative for cigarettes significantly reduces exposure to these harmful chemicals in smoke.

Some alternatives that, without being innocuous, are a better option than continuing to smoke cigarettes and that can play a fundamental role in favoring the beginning of the end of the cigarette.

A battle that will need all the support so that it can become a reality.


[1] Online survey conducted by Povaddo on behalf of PMI between August 19 and 3, 2021. It involved 29,484 adults aged 21 and over, from 26 countries, including Spain.

[2] Nicotine is an addictive substance naturally present in the tobacco leaf.

Although it is not the main cause of diseases related to smoking, it is not harmless and is contraindicated for certain profiles (minor, pregnant, lactating, diabetic, people with hypertension or heart failure).

[3]FDA Authorizes Marketing of IQOS Tobacco Heating System with 'Reduced Exposure' Information |

FDA

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