Consumer groups worldwide are at the forefront of a global campaign to end smoking and save smokers' lives by urging governments to adopt a science-based approach and recognize smoke-free alternatives as better substitutes to combustible cigarettes.
The groups said despite the significant scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness and relative safety of smoke-free products, some influential voices continue to create obstacles for consumers.
Attending the 11th Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN), these groups said smoke-free alternatives such as vapes, heated tobacco, and oral nicotine pouches offer consumers better choices. These innovative devices are part of the tobacco harm reduction (THR) strategy.
THR is a public health approach that aims to lessen the harm caused by cigarette smoking, the most dangerous form of tobacco use. It encourages smokers who are want to continue consuming nicotine to switch to smoke-free products.
Scientific studies have shown that smoke-free products are at least 95 percent less harmful than traditional cigarettes.
Unlike cigarettes, these products do not burn tobacco or produce smoke containing thousands of harmful chemicals, according to consumer groups.
At a consumer panel session during the GFN held in Warsaw, Poland, from June 13 to 15, 2024, consumers discussed their initiatives aimed at getting smokers to quit or switch to better alternatives.
Their advocacy is based on the belief that vaping can save smokers' lives by removing smoke in nicotine consumption.
Since its inception, the GFN has focused on the role of smoke-free alternatives in helping people quit smoking.
Carissa Düring, director of Considerate Pouchers in Sweden, a global consumer advocacy group promoting a smoke-free world and consumer rights to alternative nicotine products, pointed to Sweden as a successful example of tobacco harm reduction.
"Since 2016, we've had nicotine pouches," Düring said. "They were invented here, and they have contributed to decreasing smoking rates, particularly among women. For the entire population, we now have a very low smoking rate of 5.6 percent, the lowest in the European Union."
Düring said Sweden's success stemmed from consumer choice. "When we entered the European Union, consumers said, 'Don't touch our snus,'" she said, referring to a smokeless oral nicotine product.
"That's why Sweden has had snus for a long time. This is a consumer-driven movement, not a government policy."
"Swedish politicians don't realize we are becoming smoke-free," Düring said. "They are waking up after a lot of active campaigning from us, but we still face challenges and misinformation."
Asa Saligupta, director and founding member of ENDS Cigarette Smoke Thailand (ECST) and a member of the Parliament's Committee on Laws and Regulations of E-Cigarettes, highlighted the challenges in Thailand, where e-cigarettes have been banned for ten years.
"Despite the ban, Thailand has over 1.5 million vapers," Saligupta said. "Importing and distributing e-cigarettes is illegal, so you can't sell them. But buying, possessing and using them are not illegal. Vaping itself isn't illegal because there are no laws controlling it. You can even vape in no-smoking zones without penalty."
Saligupta said to reverse the ban, the ECST, with over 100,000 members, has been working to educate the public and advocate to government officials.
Ignacio Leiva, founder and president of the Association of Vaporizer Consumers of Chile (ASOVAPE) and secretary of ARDT Iberoamerica, has played a key role in promoting tobacco harm reduction in Chile. He organized the first pro-vaping public demonstration in Latin America and advocates for communication campaigns.
Ignacio Leiva, founder and president of the Association of Vaporizer Consumers of Chile (ASOVAPE)
Leiva underscored the importance of consumer education. "I started a community of e-cigarette users on Facebook to inform them about the benefits and potential drawbacks," he said. "Users need to be aware."
Leiva credits the GFN with empowering consumer activism in Chile.
"The GFN helped us professionalize our advocacy," he said. "We learned about harm reduction and what we were fighting for. We were fighting for something we couldn't properly express before."
"Now we work as a network," Leiva said.
"I'm very proud of the new advocacy groups working together in Chile and across Latin America."
Consumer groups said, however, they continue to face challenges, including the complex THR environment across countries, their exclusion from policy discussions, and the World Health Organization's refusal to hear their voices.
Consumers are often neglected in debates that result in disproportionate regulations, restrictions on sales and use, and outright bans on smoke-free products, they said.