Asian policymakers urged to consider e-cigs
MANILA: Leading think tanks are urging policymakers in Asia to consider adopting tobacco harm reduction approaches, and provide access and accurate information on alternative smoking products, such as electronic cigarettes, vaping and snus.
This message was delivered at the 2nd Asia Harm Reduction Forum here, which gathered some 200 advocates, including health practitioners, academicians, consumers, as well as those from the field of science, technology and policy.
Participants agreed that rigid government regulations, high taxes and extensive public awareness campaigns have failed to influence smokers to stop smoking, so much so that it continues to be a major public health issue in the region.
Indonesia Public Health Observation Foundation adviser and lead researcher Dr Amaliya said although alternative smoking devices were proven to be less harmful than cigarettes, some countries were less than welcoming toward these products.
Amaliya said thanks to innovation and technology development, alternative nicotine products were available to provide a satisfying, but less harmful option to smokers to get their nicotine fix.
However, she said, some countries refused to welcome and encourage the use of such products, and instead chose to ban them.
“Nicotine satisfaction for smokers that are less harmful, such as electronic cigarettes and other smokeless products, are readily available, such as in the United Kingdom and Germany, and it shows that the smoking prevalence is dropping.
“This is definitely the future for public health. The question is why will other countries not utilise the same policy? Singapore have banned e-cigarettes and other alternative products, states in India are following suit, while Hong Kong has also announced to enforce a ban,” Amaliya said. She is a lecturer and researcher with the Periodontology Department of the Universitas Padjadjaran in Bandung, Indonesia.
She said although it was true that more research needed to be done to justify these alternative products, policymakers should not be too hasty to ban these products.
“Smokers need alternative products, and this is better than them continuing to smoke combustable cigarettes. The quit-ordie approach does not work. It is time to quit or try the alternative products to quit.”
Biomedical Sciences expert Professor Tikki Pangestu quoted three studies — Evidence Review of E-Cigarettes and Heated Tobacco Products 2018, which was commissioned by Public Health England; Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes, a consensus study report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in the United States; and E-Cigarettes by the House of Commons’ Science and Technology Committee in the United Kingdom — which stated that not only was alternative smoking devices less harmful to the smoker, but also to immediate family members and bystanders.
Pangestu, a visiting professor from the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said the studies proved that switching completely from smoking to vaping brought substantial health benefits.
However, he said, more research needed to be done for heat-not-burn products.
“It (alternative smoking devices) might be beneficial to help adults quit smoking. E-cigarettes can be a contributing factor to the 20,000 successful new quits per year or possibly more.”
Pangestu is former World Health Organisation research policy and cooperation director and a Universiti Malaya Biomedical Sciences lecturer.
Substance addiction expert Professor Helen Redmond said some could not resist the “ritual” of smoking, as it gave them a sense of joy and satisfaction.
She said people needed to accept the fact that there would never be a nicotine-free world, thus people needed to find a safer and healthier way to approach their smoking addiction.
Responding to the Malaysian government’s actions of raiding vape shops and confiscating the liquid products due to its “dangers”, Redmond said the authorities should instead raid and confiscate cigarettes, as those were the real killers.
“We need to do real research, not junk science that is, unfortunately, clouding the pages of journals of the world. We want safe vaping products and proper regulations.”
She said although vaping was not 100 per cent safe, it was the better option.
Smoking prevalence among males in Malaysia stands at 43 per cent in 2015, sharing the seventh spot with the Philippines. Laos comes stands at 57 per cent, South Korea (50 per cent), China (48 per cent), Vietnam (47 per cent) and Cambodia (44.1 per cent).