By THE MANILA BULLETIN
Tobacco harm reduction advocates have denounced anti-vaping groups for spreading misinformation and misleading the public, which they say prevents millions of smokers from accessing potentially life-saving smoke-free alternatives.
David Sweanor, an adjunct professor of law at the University of Ottawa in Canada with a 40-year career in tobacco control and law.
“It sort of feels like they don’t care,” said David Sweanor, an adjunct professor of law at the University of Ottawa in Canada who has a 40-year career in tobacco control and law.
Smokeless technologies could prevent millions of deaths annually because they don’t produce smoke containing toxic substances, he said. Mounting scientific evidence from reputable public health institutions concludes that nicotine is not the cause of smoking-related diseases. Instead, burning tobacco creates thousands of toxic chemicals that cause cancer and other deadly diseases.
The United Kingdom’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities determined in its “current series of evidence reviews about the health harms of vaping by leading independent tobacco experts” that vaping is 95 percent less harmful than smoking.
Speaking at the recent Global Forum on Nicotine in Warsaw, Poland, Sweanor said consumers are recognizing the lies spread by anti-vaping groups about innovative alternatives that scientific studies have found to be much safer than combustible cigarettes.
“The consumers themselves are moving. They’re learning about this. They’re seeing the benefits personally. So they’re way ahead of where many of the anti-nicotine people are. They’re the ones who push for the change. They’re the ones who see the benefits,” Sweanor said.
Millions of consumers have switched from cigarettes to safer nicotine products like vapes, heated tobacco, and oral nicotine pouches despite the unscientific claims and scare tactics of anti-vaping organizations, he said.
“They do learn that there’s huge differentials in risks. And they do learn that these organizations are misleading them,” Sweanor said.
Sweanor particularly questioned the World Health Organization’s denial of the potential for harm reduction through less harmful alternatives like vapes, heated tobacco, and oral nicotine pouches.
“How do you deny all these people who’ve been able to quit and move over to these products? You’ve never seen anything like that with any nicotine replacement therapy. And why aren’t we studying that?” he said at the Global Forum on Nicotine.
Sweanor said the assumption that new technologies carry unknown risks drives much of the debate. “This has often amplified the levels that overshadow the dangers of known risks. This is what we’ve always dealt with innovation,” he said.
“I think the fact that we’re seeing so much progress, that consumers themselves are moving, that the politicians are going to have to follow that. Because otherwise all they do is lose credibility. The way that’s now happening with WHO.”
The market for cigarette alternatives has grown into a $350 billion global industry, according to Harry Shapiro, executive editor of the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction report. “Over 120 million people worldwide, mainly in high-income countries, now use safer nicotine products,” he said.
Sweanor compared the rapid change in the nicotine industry to the rise of mobile phones. He underscored the need for regulations that acknowledge both innovation and potential risks.
“It’s unstoppable. You’re not going to stop innovation,” he said.
Sweanor also criticized anti-vaping groups for prioritizing slogans over data-driven approaches.
“They’re saying that all we’re concerned about is young people, meaning you’re willing to write off the lives of hundreds of millions of adults in order to try to prevent a young person from using nicotine, which itself has very low risk,” he said.