Health Awareness Increases, Adult Smokers Start Switching to Alternative Tobacco Products

Illustration. (Photo: Dok. Antara)

JAKARTA - Nicotine activates the brain to produce the hormone dopamine, so smoking is considered to trigger focus and concentration. However, this activity brings health problems because the smoke from cigarette combustion not only contains nicotine, but also tar which is carcinogenic or can increase the risk of cancer. Currently, adult smokers have the option of switching to alternative tobacco products that do not go through the combustion process to get nicotine intake.

Chairman of the Indonesian Vape Consumer Association (AKVINDO) Paido Siahaan explained that alternative tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products work by producing a vapor containing nicotine. According to him, through this non-combustion mechanism, consumers or adult smokers get a sense of comfort with a much lower potential health risk compared to continuing to smoke.

He emphasized that most of the harmful substances come from the process of burning tobacco, not from nicotine itself.

"Nicotine is a substance that causes dependence, but is not the main cause of various diseases related to smoking. Most of the dangers of cigarettes arise when tobacco is burned, because the process produces smoke containing tar, carbon monoxide, and various carcinogenic substances," said Paido, Sunday, July 19.

He continued, amid the increasing interest in alternative tobacco products, public education based on facts and scientific evidence needs to continue to be strengthened. According to him, there are still many people who equate all risks related to nicotine and cigarettes. In fact, there is a fundamental difference between the risk of exposure to nicotine and exposure to harmful substances produced from the process of burning tobacco.

"Evidence-based education is important so that people understand that the level of risk is different. Consumers need to know that using nicotine still has risks, even though it is minimal, and the most dangerous is the emergence of harmful substances resulting from the process of burning tobacco," he added.

Health Education and Risk Reduction Trends in the Community

The Chairman of the Free Tar and Smoke Movement (GEBRAK) Garindra Kartasasmita, assessed that the existence of alternative tobacco products in the country today is directly correlated with the widespread public awareness that increasingly prioritizes health aspects and social comfort.

He revealed that the popularity of the harm reduction approach was the main trigger behind the change in people's lifestyles.

"The reason why many people are switching is because of harm reduction products, modern people today pay more attention to their health, their families, and their environment," explained Garindra.

Apart from the factors of personal and environmental health, the comfort of people around non-users also plays a big role in why alternative tobacco products are increasingly in demand. Today's consumers are also more critical because they always do their own research, from reading reviews to evaluating the level of risk, before making a decision to buy an official product.

In addition, Garindra also gave a message and a firm warning to all consumers and adult smokers to always be responsible, including only using legal products, maintaining the consumption age limit of 21+, and avoiding the misuse of vaping.

"Use legal products with tax labels, with packaging that is still sealed, make purchases only at official stores. The abuse of vape is indeed by a handful of individuals, and it is a joint task of law enforcement and the legal industry to jointly fight drugs," he concluded.