Tobacco Harm Reduction and the right to health

12 Concerns that young people would take up vaping in large numbers have not been borne out in Great Britain. Anti-smoking charity ASH’s Smokefree Great Britain Youth Survey found that among 11 – 18 year olds who had never smoked, 5.5% have tried e-cigarettes at some time, 0.8% are current vapers, only 0.1% vape more than once a week. Not a single ‘never smoker’ reported vaping daily. 33 “I had an e-cig that the Stop Smoking Nurse gave me. I tried it a couple of times and thought, yeah, this is all right – because I think it was more the habit of the smoke that I needed – so I thought, I’m gonna give it a real good go. E-cigs are the best thing that I’ve ever discovered. They’ve changed my life.” Glen 32 Heated tobacco products A new generation of devices called heated tobacco products has reached the market recently in many countries. These devices heat tobacco below the level of combustion to a temperature of no more than 350°C, which is sufficient to release nicotine in a vapour containing significantly reduced levels of toxins compared to combustible cigarettes. 34 Tobacco for use in heated tobacco devices is powdered and mixed with glycerine, guar gum, and other ingredients. Heated tobacco products generate significantly lower levels of harmful constituents compared to cigarettes; in terms of cancer potency, a review of extant studies of toxicological risk and likely daily exposure indicated that cancer risk from heated tobacco products is between one and 10% that of cigarettes. 35 32 Glen is a UK vaper interviewed for The Switch, a video made by the New Nicotine Alliance (NNA) and the National Centre for Smoking Cessation Training (NCSCT). All videos accessible at the NNA website: https://nnalliance.org/ nnaresources/switch-videos 33 Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) (2019) Use of e-cigarettes among young people in Great Britain . https://ash.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ASH-Factsheet-Youth-E-cigarette-Use-2019.pdf 34 Committee on Toxicity (2017). COT Meeting: 4 July 2017 . https://cot.food.gov.uk/cot-meetings/cotmeets/cot-meeting- 4-july-2017 35 Stephens E (2018) The role of emissions in the debate on health effects across the spectrum of nicotine delivery . Global Forum on Nicotine, June 2018, Warsaw. https://gfn.net.co/downloads/2018/PRESENTATIONS/SATURDAY/ Plenary%202/EdStephens.pdf Image: Sven Kucinic on Unsplash Image: Antonin FELS on Unsplash