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Docs speak up for safer smokeless tobacco, nicotine usage

Published on: Thursday, July 24, 2025 Published on: Thu, Jul 24, 2025 By: David Thien Text Size: 'How can we convince those in power that this consumer-led public health revolution can lead to real-world change?' asked Mark, who hosted the first public event on vaping in Vancouver in 2018. WARSAW: Everything possible should be done to increase smokers' access to tobacco harm reduction initiatives and increase the acceptance of such products, make them as easy to get as possible so as to get as many people off cigarettes. However, Prof. Dr Mark Tyndall, a professor at the University of British Columbia, and previously Director of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, said this is not happening. Speaking at the 12th Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN 2025) at the Warsaw Presidential Hotel from June 19 to 21, he said consumer advocates and tobacco harm reduction campaigners face significant challenges engaging lawmakers and public health organisations, including structural opposition to safer nicotine products. 'How can we convince those in power that this consumer-led public health revolution can lead to real-world change?' asked Mark, who hosted the first public event on vaping in Vancouver in 2018. 'I think the future of safer tobacco products is promising, but it's taking far too long and we really need to find ways to speed up this transition that I think will inevitably occur, but there's things that we can do right now.' He said based on his experience community activism is extremely important. 'We need to encourage and get people who have started to vape and people in the community who can really advocate for themselves and have a voice. 'If you have a heart attack, you see a cardiologist. If you have lung cancer, you'll see an oncologist. If you have bad COPD, you'll see a respirologist. They don't really think for one minute about prevention. 'They're really focused on helping people in their current situation and don't really look at the big picture of prevention. 'But the point is we've really created a whole medical infrastructure around treating these chronic illnesses due to smoking, and nobody's in a big hurry to change it. 'Also, tobacco control organizations aren't in a big hurry to change things, so they've really had decades of working on abstinence-based programs.' He said when safer products became available, they were constantly cautious, but now instead of starting to discuss the possibilities of how these could help people and help people's health, they just continue to double down. 'And now, 10 or 15 years into it, it's really hard for these tobacco control organizations to take a big breath and say maybe we were wrong all along, and that's probably not likely to happen because then people would ask, well, what else have you been wrong about for the last 10 or 15 years? 'So there's a lot of credibility at store there, and it's very hard, I think, for people to change course when they've doubled down and dug in so deep against these safer products.' He said in many countries tobacco companies aren't allowed to say that vaping is safer and that's a huge problem as far as getting the message out there,' Prof. Dr Mark Tyndall said. He remains committed to seeing an end to combustible cigarettes through vaping and other low-risk nicotine products. His book, 'Vaping Behind the Smoke and Fears', was launched at the occasion. Malaysia is one of those countries where it is not permissible to say that vaping is safer than smoking. It is well established that nicotine does not cause smoking-related diseases, which result instead from the inhalation of toxicants in tobacco smoke. Vapes, pouches, pasteurised snus and heated tobacco products (HTPs) all deliver nicotine without combustion, leading to substantially reduced health risks in comparison to continued smoking. These alternative products to cigarette smoking should be encouraged as substitutes for smokers who can't quit. The new regulations to enforce Malaysia's Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852), which replaced the previous version, now also include vape and e-cigarettes equally under expanded and updated controls. Vape and e-cigarettes are treated similarly to cigarettes and tobacco products. Malaysia currently spends an estimated RM16 billion annually treating smoking-related illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and lung cancer. Public access to alternative smoking products should be encouraged as preventive measures to minimise smoking-related illnesses. Dr Carolyn Beaumont said: 'We shouldn't need to put our reputation on the line, risk media censure and medical board discipline amid false accusations of being beholden to the tobacco industry. "But as a doctor, that's exactly what I've experienced. No wonder tobacco harm reduction isn't attracting more health professionals.' She hopes the voice of health professionals continues to play a leading role in promoting Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR). Not only doctors, pharmacists, nurses, dentists, social workers, psychologists, to name a few. 'The impact a single health professional can have on helping many smokers is remarkable,' she said, adding although they won't easily get media or politicians on side any time soon, 'we must focus on educating health professionals about tobacco harm reduction.' It's simply about offering smokers more solutions, about acknowledging that many don't want to give up nicotine and that they're sick of being lectured to and judged by doctors. 'I'm not telling doctors to ignore existing replacement therapies. I'm simply telling them there's another extremely effective tool in the toolbox. I want to briefly talk about the future of nicotine products, in particular nicotine pouches. 'And all I can say about this is three things. Innovate, regulate, educate. Whatever helps a smoker quit has to be considered seriously, and not just dismissed as yet another tobacco industry ploy to addict the next generation. 'We could remain open to new nicotine technologies and at the same time ensure they remain regulated and as safe as possible,' Dr Carolyn Beaumont. Paddy Costall said the aim is to win over medical professionals one at a time.