Tobbaco inflicted health burdens call for harm reduction protocol

World health organization’s tobacco control policies are called for review by two professors who demand the inclusion of harm reduction protocol as an immediate policy to reduce the problems caused by tobacco.

The Lancet medical journal published a correspondence entitled “Tobacco control: getting to the finish line,” in which the two professors Robert Beaglehole and Ruth Bonita explained that four out of five of the world’s smokers are in low-income and middle-income countries.

These countries’ tobacco use is falling slowly despite the growing deaths because of its consumption.

The professors highlight the need for harm reduction as an essential public health strategy that has been proven to be effective in reducing the harm of harmful substances where abstinence is not a viable option.

Tobacco Harm Reduction reduces the harm caused by tobacco smoke by eliminating the process of burning tobacco, presenting adult smokers who would continue to smoke with non-combustible alternatives, reported The Nation media.

Health specialists deemed this strategy efficient.

The number of smokers globally did not change much even with the implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) policies 17 years ago.

The WHO and FCTC remain blind to the science of harm reduction, said The National, despite countries like the UK, Japan, Netherlands, Canada, and the Philippines already endorsing it.

The two organizations are tackling the smoking issue in many countries in ways that are not as efficient as harm control which is why these countries suffer greatly from tobacco harm.