Left : Clive Bates hosts The Big THR Conversation at GFN23 . Above : GFN cofounder Professor Gerry Stimson speaks from the floor . Photography : GFN
changing – or positions becoming more entrenched . In some countries there were very active communities of users , linked by social media ; in others , vaping was still new to politicians accompanied by ‘ a lag in public health awareness and understanding ’.
Comments from a Swedish delegate illustrated this . He had been in the Court of Justice when consumers challenged a ban on snus and said , ‘ What happened in court made me decide the ban on snus [ a smokeless tobacco pouch , placed under the top lip ] was 100 per cent political . A hundred pages of scientific evidence were ignored .’
There was discussion about the reasons for banning THR products . Bans made good headlines ( delegate from the US ); bans make politicians look like they have potency ( Clive Bates , session chair ); prohibition and a ban is a much easier sell to the public ( Fiona Patten , former politician from Australia ). There were different routes to prohibition , from changing the law to making the products as unappealing as possible .
THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY The involvement of the tobacco industry in THR , primarily vaping , had been a double-edged sword . Alongside their innovations , they ‘ brought their reputational baggage into the room ’, which hardened attitudes towards vaping products . The Foundation for a Smoke Free World , set up to
‘ end smoking within a generation ’, belonged to Phillip Morris and was launched at a tobacco industry event . No wonder there was cynicism .
But in this forum , the industry was a welcome contributor to the debate – a partner in driving up product standards and keeping illicit ( and possibly dangerous ) products outside of the marketplace . New products to emerge included nicotine vapes , Swedish-style snus , and nicotine pouches – none of which burned tobacco , and all of which had been shown to be significantly safer than combustible cigarettes . An estimated 112m people used these products worldwide .
SUCCESS STORIES In some countries , ‘ amazing progress ’ had translated into public health success stories ; for instance in New Zealand Maori smoking had plummeted after introducing vaping . The Philippines had ‘ got over the line ’ with vaping because of consumer advocacy , and a turning of the tide meant it would soon be legal to vape in Malaysia and Thailand .
For others , progress was being frustrated . Last year Mexico banned vapes on World No Tobacco Day – a decision that was ‘ science-free and a political gesture ’, according to Bates – while in South Africa a new tax on vaping was likely to push people back to cheaper tobacco and Australia was also cracking down on vaping . In England there were positive signs of free vaping kits being distributed – but also a media-driven narrative about young people becoming addicted .
The WHO continued to oppose safer nicotine products for smoking cessation and to publicly deride tobacco harm
HEADLINE RUSE
Don ’ t believe everything badged as research , said Roberto Sussman
‘ I UNDERSTOOD INDOOR SMOKING BANS – that people needed to be protected from my smoke . But not outside bans . Bullshit alert !’ Dr Roberto A Sussman waved his arms around theatrically and the audience responded to his lively presentation . A full-time senior researcher and lecturer at the Institute of Nuclear Sciences at the National University of Mexico , Sussman had nipped across from the world of cosmology to write peer-reviewed research on e-cigarette aerosols .
‘ There ’ s a nasty short circuit in tobacco science that would never have happened in physics ,’ he said . ‘ Outdoor smoking bans are social engineering , and their goal is not health driven . It ’ s about eradication of conduct .’ The question was – could this be justified for vaping ? ‘ Are we going to allow denormalising of vaping as was done on smoking ?’
reduction . All eyes were on the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Tenth Conference of the Parties ( COP10 ) in Panama this November , which GFN feared could have ‘ grave implications for global public health ’.
We needed to be mindful that ‘ science has become subordinate to the political argument ,’ said Bates . But the endgame was that the THR debate was very useful – it could solve COPD , cardiovascular disease and
Find resources from the Global Forum on Nicotine at gfn . events .
Use the QR code for more coverage and view video from the Global Forum on Nicotine 2023 .
‘ There ’ s a nasty short circuit in tobacco science that would never have happened in physics .’
DR ROBERTO SUSSMAN
Tobacco harm reduction was seen as a Trojan Horse of the tobacco industry , he said , ‘ a way of bringing in young people , young addicts .’ There was a toxic academic environment in which technically sloppy papers were published to support policy .
‘ Research ignores that most usage is experimental ,’ he said . ‘ Frequent vapers tend to be those who have tried tobacco and / or smoking . The vaping youth epidemic is a political construct .’
cancer while involving a stimulant that people enjoyed using .
For many , the debate served to re-energise efforts to take THR to the next level . ‘ We need to keep kicking those doors ,’ commented a delegate . ‘ It ’ s easy to be negative , but we ’ ve done incredible work .’
‘ Nicotine doesn ’ t cause cancer and when we make people realise this then we can discuss lower levels of harm of the products ,’ said another . ‘ There is not one single golden bullet .’ DDN
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