2024-08-07 14:18:15
Although more and more studies are appearing, state institutions, politicians and doctors are unable to find a unified opinion. Some call for the new generation of tobacco products to be placed on the same shelf as cigarettes, but others see an alternative and believe that new opportunities have emerged to reduce the health problems associated with traditional tobacco products.
The recent Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN) in Warsaw focused, as usual, on smokeless nicotine products. One of the keynote speakers at the conference, Professor Andrzej Fal, emphasized that based on historical and cultural experience, it is difficult to imagine that society will completely abandon unhealthy habits. Therefore, the principle of harm reduction will be forever relevant, when people who do not give up nicotine use switch from smoking and other risky tobacco use to less harmful nicotine products.
“We don’t question drug harm reduction. So why should we argue about harm reduction when it comes to smoking? However, we also need to find measures to ensure that this is harm reduction and not harm propagation,” stressed Professor A. Fal.
He pointed out that the direct costs of smoking in the economic engine are related to the funds that are allocated to health care. However, there are also indirect costs, such as smokers dropping out of the labor market because they become ill and lose at least some of their ability to work.
“Unfortunately, many healthcare professionals lack the knowledge and understanding of tobacco harm reduction. But it’s really a matter of cost control. Cancer treatment is much more expensive than a public awareness campaign or spreading good information to people. The fight against the effects of tobacco smoking or drug use is now expensive,” emphasized A. Fal.
“Insurance strategy should change”
Doctor cardiologist prof. Pranas Šerpytis says that tobacco use in any form increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, it would be best to quit smoking. But easy to say, hard to do.
According to the professor, nicotine addiction is very strong, greater than heroin or alcohol and therefore only 5%. people who get used to smoking manage to give up their health-damaging hobby, the professor notes.
“If a person can’t quit smoking, then alternatives such as smoking tobacco are less of a problem. We get the same nicotine, but much less other toxic substances”, says P. Šerpytis.
Of course, policies aimed at young people must emphasize that any use of harmful substances is harmful to health.
The professor draws attention to the fact that the fight against smoking in Lithuania is limited to the policy of bans and lacks concern for the education of the population. He believes that the chosen tactics are flawed, because efforts to reduce the prevalence of smoking are not bearing fruit.
“Apparently, this prohibition strategy should change”, says P. Šerpytis.
Different positions of the UK and Lithuania
P. Šerpytis gives the example of the United Kingdom (UK), where the state institution responsible for public health – the National Health Service (NHS) – has identified electronic cigarettes as an aid to giving up traditional tobacco.
“E-cigarettes are far less harmful than cigarettes and can help you quit smoking permanently,” the NHS says, adding that they are not recommended for non-smokers.
“Thousands of UK residents have already quit smoking using e-cigarettes. There is evidence that they can be effective,” says the NHS.
At that time, Evelina Pridotkienė, a specialist at the Republican Center for Addiction Diseases (RPLC), points out that currently two main strategies for helping people quit smoking can be distinguished in Lithuania: pharmacological therapy and behavior change (psychological) support, which are usually provided by health care specialists.
She emphasizes that nicotine replacement therapy and other medical treatment are effective and safe help for people who quit smoking, and the combination of medical treatment and psychological counseling is currently recognized as the most effective way to quit smoking.
“Until now, there have been no studies in Lithuania proving that electronic cigarettes or heated tobacco can be effective in quitting smoking. In other countries, there is gradually increasing evidence that electronic cigarettes can potentially be an effective tool for quitting smoking, but the research findings remain contradictory for now”, emphasizes E. Pridotkienė.
There will always be debate
Director of the Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, prof. Natalja Istomina agrees that, based on research data, it is difficult to find an unequivocal answer regarding the use of electronic cigarettes to reduce tobacco harm.
“There are more and more new research results, but not yet a lot of high-level evidence has been collected to be able to say with certainty that there are measures that can reduce the harm without risk,” N. Istomina claims.
According to her, it is natural that there will always be a debate on this issue in the medical community because there are two opposing camps. But it is clear that all the tools that are offered on the market are not safe.
“I had to read scientific articles about the fact that fourth-generation electronic cigarettes are even more dangerous to health than classic tobacco, where the combustion process takes place, resins and other harmful substances are released.
“We have already heard from people who smoked only electronic cigarettes that problems with the respiratory system appeared, sores appeared in the mouth,” says N. Istomina.
She points out that when using electronic cigarettes, no combustion reaction takes place, no resins are released, no other harmful substances are present, but there is a lack of information about the cumulative health damage of the combination of various tobacco products.
“If a person smokes only heated tobacco, we can see that health really improves because the person receives less harmful substances. But if a person uses incandescent tobacco, regular cigarettes and electronic cigarettes together, then we do not know what the cumulative damage will be.
And studies published in the United Kingdom and the United States suggest that smoking tobacco may be an alternative. However, I would not dare to unequivocally offer electronic cigarettes as an alternative to smokers,” says N. Istomina.
2024-08-07 14:18:15