Daily Times

Evolving and embracing change is one of the most important reasons why human beings have been able to survive on this planet.

As philosophy, ideas, surroundings, technology and science develop quickly, humans also need to adapt and change at a rapid pace to grow with the world. Unfortunately, as the rest of the world embraces and adapts to innovations and technologies, we seem to be not aware of many.

Present-day science, technologies, products, applications, services that are easily accessible all over the world are not so easily available for us. A lot of new innovations are neglected because of misinformation, inaccessibility, inadaptability, and fear of change, taking away consumers’ freedom and right to choose. Such is also the case with smoke-free and less harmful alternatives to cigarettes.

What is surprising is that our policy makers have chosen to neglect any innovation in the tobacco and nicotine space, let alone take a positive approach towards harm reduction. Anti-smoking organisations arrange several conferences and seminars with no mention of present-day tobacco harm reduction strategies. Instead, age-old methods of imposing blanket bans and levying heavy taxes are reinforced.

What is surprising is that our policy makers have chosen to neglect any innovation in the tobacco and nicotine space, let alone take a positive approach towards harm reduction. Anti-smoking organisations arrange several conferences and seminars with no mention of present-day tobacco harm reduction strategies

Innovative products that are scientifically-proven to lower public health risk as they do not involve burning of tobacco and do not produce smoke have not been considered at all, leaving smokers, who will otherwise continue to smoke, helpless with no alternate in sight.

Countries like USA, UK, New Zealand, Japan and various others have recognized the potential of less harmful alternatives backed by scientific evidence in an effort to apply a consumer-centric and science-based approach to tackle the menace of smoking and providing consumers the right to choose better options for their health. US FDA has recently classified them as less harmful than smoking and “appropriate for the protection of public health” while Public Health England has also declared these products 95 percent risk-free as compared to cigarettes.

Smokers and tobacco consumers in Pakistan should be given the right to choose better alternatives which might also eventually result in reducing the socio-economic burden of tobacco-related harm. Policy makers and regulatory bodies should take into account the benefits of harm-reducing products and strategies and devise appropriate regulations and laws so that adult smokers, who would otherwise continue to smoke, can benefit from these measures.