The 13th National Harm Reduction Conference took place in San Juan, Puerto Rico in mid-October.
It involved around 2,800 harm reductionists from across the United States and beyond, and its myriad important themes included overdose prevention, drug checking, racial justice, sex work and much more.
There was also one panel about tobacco harm reduction (THR), in which I participated. Its inclusion was significant, given the divisions sometimes seen between THR and the rest of harm reduction, and conversations about how to align the two.
So I took the chance to ask some of the folks at the conference for their thoughts. The responses they were kind enough to share with me reflect some of the issues that impede better understanding, some personal THR experiences, and some really encouraging interest in including THR in their work.
“Vapes? Those things are horrible for you.”
Unfortunately, after a relentless misinformation campaign against vaping by US nonprofits and public health authorities, some misunderstandings have stuck—even among harm reductionists.
“Vapes? Those things are horrible for you,” said one conference attendee, who was smoking a cigarette and asked to remain anonymous.
Kevin Garcia – Filter – 2022-11-21.
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