What is tobacco harm reduction?
Harm reduction is a range of pragmatic policies, regulations and actions that either reduce health risks by providing safer forms of products or substances, or encourage less risky behaviours. ...
Why is smoking bad for you?
When a smoker lights a cigarette, the temperature at the tip (end) rises to between 700 and 900 degrees centigrade and releases more than 7,000 chemical compounds. At least 70 of these are know...
Why can’t people just quit smoking?
Many people successfully quit smoking with no assistance at all. Others quit using nicotine replacement therapy or medicines, although relapse rates are high. But there are still many people who s...
Are e-cigarettes bad for you/is vaping bad for you?
This is only half the question. The rest should read ‘compared to cigarettes?’ When you compare using e-cigarettes or vaping products to smoking tobacco cigarettes, the science is clear: e-ciga...
Do e-cigarettes or vaping products have their own health risks?
E-cigarettes / vaping products are intended to be used by adult smokers as a way to reduce harm, not by people who do not smoke.There is no such thing as absolute safety - but just because we don’...
What caused the deaths linked to e-cigarettes / vaping products in the USA?
In 2019 there was a lung injury outbreak and tragically some deaths in the USA. This was not caused by people vaping nicotine liquid. The people who fell ill had been vaping illicitly-produced T...
Is there evidence that safer nicotine products can reduce harm at a population level?
Yes, there is evidence that safer nicotine products can have a major positive impact on consumer choices and public health. For example:Many Japanese smokers have switched away from smoking and...
What are safer nicotine products?
Safer nicotine products fall into four main categories:E-cigarettes / vaping productsE-cigarettes / vaping products allow the user to inhale nicotine in a vapour. There is no burning. Vaping produ...
Will people switch to safer nicotine products instead of smoking?
Yes. In fact, people have already switched in their millions. We estimate that in a decade, the number of people who use safer nicotine products globally has risen to 98 million. This shows how...
Is smoking still a problem?
Yes. Despite decades of tobacco control efforts, there are still 1.1 billion people who smoke worldwide. Half of all those who smoke will die prematurely and painfully due to diseases directly ...