Stockholm, March 8, 2024–(Business Wire)–“Rampant and reckless” misinformation about alternative nicotine products is spreading across Central Asia, putting lives at risk, a leading international public health expert has said.
Uzbekistan's state media recently reported unsubstantiated claims that “e-cigarettes contain thousands of chemicals and are more harmful than smoking.”1The move comes after neighboring Kazakhstan banned e-cigarette products despite an independent expert report showing 165,000 lives could be saved.2 In the country.
This retrograde behavior, which endangers the lives of Kazakhstan's 3.2 million smokers, has been replicated in Kyrgyzstan (1.5 million smokers) and is now being replicated in Uzbekistan (over 3 million smokers and over 2 million Naswar users). It is recklessly defended.
According to Smoke Free Sweden, a campaign to reduce the harm of tobacco, such claims come in the face of recent publications from other countries, such as the UK's National Health Service, which say that not only can people lose their lives, but they can also fly. It will be.3and leading anti-smoking NGO ASH UKFour.
This claim also contradicts Sweden's approach, which has effectively eradicated smoking by allowing smokers to switch to alternatives. Sweden's official smoking rate is 5.6%, just below the threshold of being officially declared 'smoking-free'.
Dr. Deron Heumann, leader of the Smoke Free Sweden movement and former advisor to three WHO Director-Generals, said:
“Anti-e-cigarette and anti-nicotine pouch fear-mongering campaigns are, in effect, pro-smoking campaigns.”Fiveand they are on the rise in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and wide swaths of Central Asia, and the resulting ban would undermine public health.
“Stifling regulations, or worse, complete bans on low-risk, non-combustible nicotine products, have left millions of smokers vulnerable to continued smoking and consumption of harmful traditional Naswar products. , are being sentenced to unnecessary and avoidable premature death.
“Globally, these risk reduction products are saving millions of lives by giving smokers a break from deadly cigarettes. Countries such as Japan, New Zealand, Canada and Sweden provide evidence that cannot be ignored. are doing.
“Attempts to bully authorities in Uzbekistan and Central Asia into introducing deadly bans must be rejected.”
Note to editor
Smoke Free Sweden is led by Health Diplomats, a global network of public health professionals working to develop and deliver solutions to global health-related issues.
Sweden is on track to become Europe's first “smoking-free” country, with a smoking rate of less than 5 percent. This is a major achievement and 16 years ahead of her EU target of 2040. Compared to other European countries, Sweden has 44% fewer tobacco-related deaths, 41% lower cancer incidence and 38% fewer cancer deaths. This can be attributed to Sweden's openness to alternative products.
To learn more about Sweden's successful efforts to become a smoke-free nation, please visit www.smokefreesweden.org.
1 Shushboi Dushmaning Biz Burmagan Jihatlari (youtube.com)
2 d0e05b5eacc6a4f021b740d455a9ba49.pdf (thr.net)
3 Myths and facts about e-cigarettes – Better health – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Four ash.org.uk/uploads/Addressing-common-myths-about-vaping-ASH-brief.pdf?v=1691052025
Five Leveraging tobacco harm reduction – The Lancet
View source version on businesswire.com. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240308907003/ja/
contact address
press
jessica perkins
info@smokefreesweden.org
