Stakeholders Eye Technology to Reduce Tobacco Harm

In a push to provide a new frontier to a smoke free world, key stakeholders in the tobacco industry held a workshop to discuss how new technologies can reduce tobacco harm and accelerate the journey to a smoke-free world.

The conference, themed “Tobacco harm reduction: Towards a smoke free world” identified the urgent need to quickly adopt and promote reduced-risk alternatives aimed at accelerating the transition out of harmful tar-based cigarettes.

Resolutions agreed upon include: formation of a network of East and Southern Africa Reporters to champion efforts of reducing tobacco harm;  Need for major investments in alternative products that adult smokers will find satisfying but offer less risk than cigarettes;  Re-tooling Health Reporters to discourage youths from smoking cigarettes; Offering opportunities to smokers to learn about and use these potentially less harmful alternatives; Tobacco companies to consider offering a diverse portfolio of potentially less harmful products to switch smokers faster while having a positive impact on public health.

The conference had representation from 14 African countries and provided the stakeholders with an opportunity to engage in open conversation and debate about the future of the industry to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3 on good health and wellbeing by offering practical smoke-free alternatives to smokers.

Ade Adeyami, Founder and President, Leadership Impact Dynamics, told the conference that alternatives to cigarette smoking can create a big impact on health in society.

 “Given the undisputed harm caused by cigarettes on human health, the potential negative impacts of e-cigarettes are certainly pale by comparison as there is no tar in e-cigarettes. Stakeholders in the industry must offer alternative products as an important smoking cessation tool. We believe we can have a big impact on public health by promoting alternatives to smoking cigarettes”, added Mr. Ade Adeyami.

A new generation of alternative tobacco products could offer a breakthrough for harm reduction, appealing to smokers, in a time where current anti-smoking campaigns are considerably not cutting through.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over a billion people currently smoke cigarettes, and this number is projected to remain largely unchanged by 2025. Globally 7 Million people die from tobacco annually despite the efforts of the anti- tobacco agencies and world-wide anti-smoking campaigns.