Latest news with #harmReduction
Arab News
3 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
TNFS Summit spotlights KSA's efforts to combat smoking
The TNFS Summit 2025 concluded on May 29 in Riyadh with the adoption of an ambitious vision for a future free from tobacco-related harm — one rooted in innovation, prevention, and regulatory integration. The summit served as a regional platform for dialogue and knowledge exchange around effective harm reduction policies and the encouragement of safer alternatives. The summit was organized under the TNFS initiative, a strategic partnership between Badael (a Public Investment Fund company), the Quality of Life Program (a Vision 2030 program), and Smart Health as the summit's scientific partner. The event brought together more than 100 experts and decision-makers from within the Kingdom and abroad, representing health organizations, regulatory authorities, and leading academic institutions. Summit sessions reviewed global models for tobacco control, including experiences from Sweden and the UK. Core themes aligned with Saudi Arabia's national strategy included: •Correcting public misconceptions about nicotine and its role as a lower-risk alternative to tobacco, as part of the solution, not the problem. •Evaluating the impact of taxation as an effective tool to reduce tobacco consumption. • Showcasing scientific innovations in reduced-risk alternative products. Official data from the General Authority for Statistics showed that the adult smoking rate in Saudi Arabia dropped from 17.5 percent to 12.4 percent within one year. This decline is attributed to the implementation of comprehensive regulatory policies, tax increases, and the availability of lower-risk alternatives. Participants emphasized that TNFS is a true transformation platform, one that moves beyond awareness toward real impact on policy and societal behavior — reinforcing the Kingdom's position as a regional model to follow. Organizers announced that the summit would serve as the first in a series of specialized events in this field. During the summit, Tolga Sezer, CEO of Badael, said: 'We believe harm reduction is the pathway to a smoke-free future. TNFS marks a powerful starting point for Saudi Arabia's national efforts to tackle tobacco use, driven by science, innovation, and supportive legislation.' Salman Al-Khattaf, adviser to the CEO of the Quality of Life Program, added: 'Health is not a choice but a foundation for a dignified life and a productive society. TNFS supports community health and promotes positive lifestyle choices in line with the Kingdom's goals and bold vision.' He emphasized that success in tobacco harm reduction depends on connecting scientific evidence with practical, applicable policies, a core aim of the TNFS partnership. Dr. Sara Al-Rashoud, research adviser at Smart Health, noted that the TNFS initiative reflects a shared commitment across sectors to reducing smoking and achieving a smoke-free Saudi Arabia, especially with nearly 4.8 million adult smokers currently in the Kingdom. Dr. Christopher Russell, a UK-based behavioral scientist specializing in tobacco and nicotine use, estimated that smoking causes approximately 14,200 premature deaths annually in Saudi Arabia. He also predicted that the global end of smoking could be achieved within the next 40 years. Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos shared successful international harm reduction models, highlighting Sweden's achievement in reducing smoking rates from 15 percent to 5 percent over 15 years. This shift contributed to a 41 percent drop in cancer incidence and a 39.6 percent decrease in tobacco-related deaths. He called these outcomes a strategic opportunity for the region. In the session titled 'Tobacco Harm Reduction in the Middle East,' Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Qudhib, a Saudi family physician specializing in noncommunicable diseases and tobacco harm reduction, warned about persistently high smoking rates in countries such as Jordan and Lebanon. Public health expert Dr. Mohammad Yaman noted that 85 percent of smokers relapse within months, according to Mayo Clinic studies. He therefore considered the TNFS initiative an important step toward reducing smoking, calling for the model to be expanded and for greater regional collaboration. In closing, participants affirmed that the TNFS Summit 2025 marks a pivotal step in the Kingdom's journey toward a society free from tobacco-related harm. It represents the convergence of political will and scientific knowledge, and strengthens Saudi Arabia's position as a leading model in adopting harm reduction policies and advancing quality of life.
Medscape
26-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Does Fentanyl Test Strip Use Reduce Overdose Risk?
The use of fentanyl test strips (FTS) was not associated with a reduction in nonfatal overdose rates compared with nonuse among people who use drugs but was linked to a significant increase in overdose risk reduction behaviors, a new study showed. METHODOLOGY: This multisite, observational cohort study included 732 participants (median age, 41 years; 50% men; 81% White individuals) from Kentucky, New York, and Ohio. Of these, 414 self-reported FTS use, whereas 318 were nonusers. Participants reported heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, nonprescribed opioids, benzodiazepines, or stimulant use within 30 days before baseline. Research was conducted from May to December 2023, with participants followed-up for up to 37 days. The primary outcome was a composite score reflecting how many of the eight overdose risk reduction behaviors participants engaged in and how frequently they performed them; secondary outcomes included self-reported nonfatal overdose. Covariates included sociodemographic and drug use characteristics. TAKEAWAY: After adjustment, FTS use at baseline was associated with a significantly higher mean daily composite score for overdose risk reduction behaviors than nonusers (increase in score, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.34-1.38). After adjustment, the mean daily rate of harm reduction behaviors was 11% higher among baseline FTS users than among nonusers (relative risk [RR], 1.11; 95% CI, 1.04-1.19). Baseline FTS users were more likely than nonusers to report having naloxone nearby (RR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.04-1.18), testing drug strength (RR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.24-1.61), and asking someone to check on them (RR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.10-1.45). After adjustment, no significant difference was found between groups in self-reported nonfatal overdoses. IN PRACTICE: 'Illegal fentanyl is driving overdose mortality, and FTS can be used to test drugs for fentanyl at the point of consumption. Our findings provide support for the role of FTS in a comprehensive harm reduction strategy but suggest that FTS use alone may be insufficient to significantly reduce overdose rates, particularly among populations with complex, high-risk drug use patterns. Integrating FTS with other harm reduction strategies like naloxone distribution is critical,' the investigators wrote. SOURCE: The study was led by Rachel A. Vickers-Smith, PhD, MPH, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. It was published online on May 13 in JAMA Network Open . LIMITATIONS: The study included only individuals already engaged in harm reduction, lacked data on prior engagement, had variable site messaging, and included a predominantly non-Hispanic White sample, limiting generalizability. Behavioral intent was not measured, follow-up was brief, data were self-reported and subject to bias, and participant anonymity prevented assessment of reasons for loss to follow-up or identification of fatal overdoses. DISCLOSURES: The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Several investigators reported receiving funding from NIH, fees from industry and journals, and support from advocacy groups, all unrelated to the submitted work. Details are provided in the original article.
Wall Street Journal
19-05-2025
- Health
- Wall Street Journal
Want to Quit Alcohol? Stay Away From THC
THC in liquid form shouldn't be sold as filling a niche for those wanting to quit alcohol ('Your Health: Drinks With Weed Gain Popularity,' Personal Journal, May 5). THC drinks are the latest scheme to rebrand intoxication and keep vulnerable people trapped in a cycle of profit-driven dependency. Swapping one addictive, mind-altering substance for another isn't harm reduction; it is exploitation and a tried-and-true marketing tactic of the addiction-for-profit industry. Setting aside the known health risks, unintentional edible-related THC ingestion in children under 12 surged between 2017 and 2023, largely driven by edibles that look like candy. With THC-infused drinks packaged like soda, we don't have to guess what comes next.
Mail & Guardian
16-05-2025
- Health
- Mail & Guardian
Stop weaponising the youth in a paternalistic anti-vaping crusade
Vapes represent a significant harm reduction tool that can see tobacco smoking rates plummet in the future, and flavours play an essential role in this equation. The anti-consumer choice reach of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) has extended further than its stated aim of decreasing tobacco smoking to those methods, primarily vaping, that smokers prefer to cut their nasty habit. The government is not innocent in this attack on personal autonomy and harm reduction. This year marks 20 years since the FCTC was adopted by the busybodies at the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its World Health Assembly member states. In commemoration — perhaps, in commiseration — of this anniversary, the World Vapers' Alliance issued its Rethinking Tobacco Control report, which notes among other things that smoking rates are falling in countries that have embraced innovation in harm reduction, Sweden, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Vapes and e-cigarettes are a huge part of this innovative approach. Public Health England's insights into vaping being some 95% less harmful than tobacco cigarettes is a foremost consideration. Research in 2020 by Dr Abigail Friedman and SiQing Xu also concludes that vape flavours play a significant role in adult cessation of tobacco smoking. In 2021, a group of 10 researchers (Dr Lin Li, Dr Ron Borland and others) concluded similarly that 'Use of fruit and other sweet-flavored e-liquids is positively related to smokers' transition away from cigarettes.' The UK's National Health Service's Better Health initiative also notes that 'vaping is less harmful than smoking. It's also one of the most effective tools for quitting smoking.' While the FCTC contains an offhanded reference to harm reduction in its definition of 'tobacco control' — thus one of the things countries are presumably encouraged to do — it goes no further. In fact, its provisions on tobacco control have been construed by its own conferences of the parties (COP) to apply against vaping. South Africa's Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, first introduced in 2018, uncritically incorporates much of the COP 2016's anti-vaping recommendations. One of these includes the FCTC's misguided approach to 'product attractiveness'. The Bill allows the minister of health, in recent years a post occupied exclusively by prohibitionists who care little for civil liberty, to adopt virtually any regulations regarding vape aesthetics and flavouring. There are no guardrails on this power that compel the minister's rules to be in line with the best scientific information. Do not be fooled. This is part of the same misguided ideology that informed the failed 'plain packaging' experiment, in which all cigarettes would be sold unbranded in identical packaging. The thinking goes that people who might otherwise not smoke might just be so bedazzled by the colourful branding and advertising that they decide to try it out for size after all. Similarly, now there is the idea that people who do not smoke or vape begin vaping because of the nice flavours. It is a condescending approach to public policymaking. Based on past conduct, and no doubt guided by the COP and FCTC establishment, it is more than likely that the minister will use the power to regulate vape flavours to undermine the strides that vaping has made in reducing the harm of smoking cigarettes. The South African health ministry's approach to regulating smoking and vaping — like the FCTC itself — has been characterised by ideological (rather than scientific) approaches, exemplified by the stubborn resistance to technological innovation as a means of fighting tobacco. All this, of course, is based on five of the most dangerous words in the English language: But think of the children! One of the rules of thumb I have developed over more than a decade in the policy analysis space is this: when politicians say, 'But think of the children!' as a justification for their actions, sit up and look for the ulterior motive. The international crusade against, of all things, vape flavours, is no exception. Why, one might ask, would regulators and politicians be against something so evidently innocuous? Well, the children, of course. Flavoured vaping, it is said, encourages the non-smoking youth to get into vaping. Make no mistake: there can be no freedom left for anyone, whatsoever, if we accept this logic. We must ban knives because a child might get hold of one and hurt themselves. In fact, as a species, we must cease using electricity because children might just stick something in electrical sockets. Cars should be banned because kids sometimes run into the road without looking. But we won't do any of these things, because we understand that it is the responsibility of parents and communities to provide guidance and supervision for the most vulnerable members of society. Life must go on, with adults making free choices about their lives without interference from busybody politicians, and guardians must help children navigate this complex reality. When children accidentally cut themselves, shock themselves, get hit by cars or begin smoking or vaping, this is not a problem caused by too much consumer freedom or too little state regulation. It is, instead, a failure of parenting and community oversight. And if it becomes endemic, it is a failure of culture. The solution to cultural failure is never to ask the very same politicians who comprise the cultural elite to award themselves with more power. Vapes represent a significant harm reduction tool that can see tobacco smoking rates plummet in the future, and flavours play an essential role in this equation. While nothing is ever perfectly safe or healthy, if society could succeed in weeding out most smoking, without coercing smokers, of course, in exchange for vaping, it would be a monumental achievement and a victory for public health. By attacking vape flavours, we run the risk that many who might otherwise have quit smoking instead stick with the habit. If the government had not allowed our state sovereignty to be so effortlessly disregarded by the WHO's 'experts' and their one-size-fits-all centralist designs, our health professionals — guided by our constitutional commitment to individual freedom — would probably have come to the same conclusion as other jurisdictions about this grand opportunity. If South Africa and other signatories to the FCTC are serious about public health, their approach must include encouraging harm reduction methods while respecting the consumer choice of smokers and vapers. Rather than suppressing flavoured vapes, it should be regarded as one of the better ways to reduce smoking. It is high time that the FCTC — and South Africa's Tobacco Bill — be revised in this respect. Martin van Staden is the South African policy fellow at the in the US and head of policy at the Free Market Foundation.
CBC
09-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Fentanyl crackdowns could increase overdose deaths, advocates warn
Data from the U.S. and Health Canada has shown that overdose deaths have dropped significantly in both countries, but harm reduction advocates say tariff-related crackdowns on fentanyl and other drugs, such as carfentanil, could undermine that progress.
