Harm Reduction, An Approach Worth Trying To Reduce Smoking Habits

Nicotine bag, an alternative substitute for cigarettes popular in Sweden. (Special)

JAKARTA - The Surgeon of the Panti Rapih Hospital, Yogyakarta, Jeffrey Ariesta Putra, said the approach to charm reduction or reduce the dangers of tobacco could be an option to help adult smokers reduce their smoking habits.

"Harm reduction can help those who find it difficult to escape smoking and research shows that alternatives have a much lower risk than smoking," he said in a statement received by Antara in Jakarta, Monday.

Jeffrey said that reducing the dangers of tobacco can be done, one of which is through the use of alternative tobacco products.

According to him, quitting smoking directly is not easy for adult smokers because in that process adult smokers will experience symptoms of nicotine breaking. This condition has the potential to trigger them to smoke again.

"As a health worker, it is not easy to advise patients to quit smoking because it has become a habit that is difficult to separate. Behavior modifications such as chewing gums tend to fail at this time," said Jeffrey.

The reduction in tobacco hazards is an alternative strategy for adult smokers who have had difficulty switching from smoking.

Scientific studies explain alternative tobacco in the form of electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine bags minimize health risks.

The UK Health Security Agency publication entitled "Evidence Review of E-Cigarettes and Heated Tobacco Product" explains that heated electronic cigarettes and tobacco products can reduce risk exposure by 90-95 percent lower than cigarettes.

Furthermore, Jeffrey hopes that there will be education about the concept of reducing tobacco hazards in the community in a sustainable manner.

"Of course, it also needs to be supported by access to information on studies of alternative products and later it can also be supported by regulations from the government to adopt an approach to reducing tobacco risk," he said.

United States University of Brown University of Conduct, Social and Medicine lecturer, Jasjit Ahluwalia, said the approach to reducing tobacco hazards aims to minimize the health risk of smoking.

He suggested that alternative tobacco could be widely available to adult smokers who want to move away from the habit of smoking conventional cigarettes.