The world has understood the risks of smoking for several decades and that quitting the habit is essential to maintaining one’s good health, but not everyone can break free from the habit.
Traditional cigarettes contain over 6,000 chemicals and ultrafine particles, 93 of which are on the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) list as potentially harmful.
Most, roughly 80 of those listed, are or are potentially carcinogenic, with the end result remaining the same – smoking is the most important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and various forms of cancer.
And yet, despite the empirical data that reveals the risks of smoking, more than 60% of those who are diagnosed with cancer continue to smoke.
But an increasing effort from sectors of the scientific community has focused on harm reduction through alternative solutions – such as E-cigarettes and heated tobacco – with the overall goal aimed at minimizing the damage that people suffer from unhealthy lifestyle choices, while at the same time not limiting or impinging upon their rights to make personal choices.
The concept of harm reduction refers to programs and practices aimed at minimizing the health and social impacts that are associated with the use of harmful products, such as cigarettes. Scientific studies and medical practitioners have noted that E-cigarettes and heated tobacco, as modified risk products, can help smokers in the path of detachment from traditional cigarettes.
Nicholas Waller – New Europe – 2022-06-28.