MED-TECH | Breakthrough tech products may lead to the end of smoking

Breakthrough technology products such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and Zyn nicotine pouch may lead to the end of smoking globally, reducing harm and diseases related to combustible cigarettes, according to harm reduction experts.

Dr. Rohan Sequeira, a cardio-metabolic physician at Sir JJ Hospital and medical director at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Mumbai, said these tobacco harm reduction (THR) products were designed to avoid the emission of smoke, which is the primary cause of diseases from cigarettes.

Unlike combustible cigarettes, THR products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco are heated to a certain degree below the burning level to release aerosols which do not contain the harmful toxins found in smoke.

Dr. Sequeira said that unfortunately, not all doctors are aware of the benefits of these innovative alternatives to cigarettes, depriving their patients of information about the concept of harm reduction.

“Information about smoke-free nicotine alternatives is not available in the whole medical community. Some doctors believe smoking is better than vaping because they do not understand the difference between combustion in cigarettes and aerosols in vapes,” he said.

“We need to educate doctors and provide them with the right information about vapes and other less harmful nicotine alternatives,” said Dr. Sequeira.

THR is a public health strategy that aims to provide safer alternatives to reduce harm caused by smoking and provide nicotine to people who cannot or do not want to quit smoking by themselves.

A recent survey found that misinformation about THR products is widespread, and many consumers and doctors mistakenly believe that nicotine causes various smoking-related illnesses.

Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos, a cardiologist, public health expert and external research fellow at the University of Patras and University of West Attica in Greece, confirmed the high level of misinformation about THR and nicotine in the healthcare community.

“Many doctors do not understand that the harmful effects of the combustion in cigarettes are orders of magnitude greater than the minimal health risks of nicotine. We need to convince doctors about the science behind THR, as they are considered credible sources of health information by the general public,” said Dr. Farsalinos.

Dr. Lorenzo Mata Jr., a Filipino THR advocate and occupational medicine physician, also supports THR as a public health strategy to help smokers.

“I call on THR advocates and other enlightened health care professionals in the Philippines to join forces in providing local physicians with the scientific facts about THR and how it can help millions of Filipinos quit smoking through less harmful nicotine alternatives,” said Dr. Mata, president of Quit for Good, a non-profit, non-stock organization promoting harm reduction.

“As respected medical experts and credible sources of health information, doctors play an important role in helping people quit smoking,” Dr. Mata said.

He said doctors can provide convincing advice for patients to quit smoking, offer brief counseling, prescribe smoking cessation medications, connect them to additional quit smoking resources and follow up with continued support to help prevent relapse. PR

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