It’s great to see that the U.S. Surgeon General is highlighting smoking cessation as a vital strategy for improving public health. The latest Surgeon General’s report confirms that certain actions, including banning menthol cigarettes and a significantly reducing nicotine in cigarettes, could lead many adults to quit while preventing others from starting.
Unfortunately, the same report misses a major component science-baked smoking cessation strategies by failing to include any material on dramatic differences in the risks posed by different tobacco and nicotine products.
The continuum of risk of nicotine products as detailed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration describes how not all nicotine consumption contributes to the disease and death caused by smoking. Combustible tobacco, including cigarettes and cigars, is by far the most dangerous way to consume nicotine. Products on the other end of the continuum, such as FDA-authorized e-cigarettes, snus, and heated (not burned) tobacco products, reduce a consumer’s risk for disease.
For adults who have not been able to quit by using traditional nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs), or who are simply unwilling to do so, these reduced-risk alternatives can be life-saving. For example there is ample, high-quality scientific evidence that e-cigarettes are better at helping adults who smoke quit than traditional nicotine replacement therapies. By failing to acknowledge this profound issue, the U.S. Surgeon General has shortchanged millions of adults who continue to smoke and struggle to quit.
Global Action is committed to disseminating the most up-to-date research on all the ways adults who smoke can quit. Grantees within our Cessation Education focus area are conducting vital work identifying the populations who smoke at higher rates, and the types of tailored interventions can support them in quitting. You can learn more the work and research we empower here.