Study: Harm Reduction Approach Successfully Speeds Down Smoking Prevalence in New Zealand

Illustration. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - New Zealand has managed to accelerate the decline in smoking prevalence with a tobacco harm reduction (THR) approach. This approach allows adult smokers to switch to alternative tobacco products that are lower in risk such as electronic cigarettes (vapes), heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches.

The findings were presented in a study entitled "New Zealand's accelerating smoking decline: Lessons for tobacco harm reduction" published by The Lancet and written by Professor Emeritus at the University of Auckland, Robert Beaglehole and Ruth Bonita, as well as Independent Health Expert, Ben Youdan.

Research shows that the prevalence of adult smoking in New Zealand has declined much faster since 2018. The prevalence of smoking before 2018 was around 3.5 percent per year before 2018, but in the 2018-2023 period the rate of decline increased to around 17.9 percent per year.

"The turning point came in 2019 when the use of electronic cigarettes (vapes) began to be adopted more widely and the New Zealand Ministry of Health officially recognized that electronic cigarettes have a much lower risk than cigarettes, while supporting their use as an alternative to switching from smoking habits," said the researchers. quoted on the weekend, Sunday, August 9.

In their study, the researchers clearly distinguish between the risk of tobacco combustion and nicotine. They emphasize that smoking-related diseases are caused by exposure to toxic substances resulting from tobacco combustion, not nicotine. Therefore, the provision of nicotine-based product alternatives without going through the combustion process is considered to be one of the strategies to reduce the health impact on adult smokers who have not succeeded in reducing smoking habits.

Based on these findings, the authors concluded that cigarette control strategies would be more effective if they were complemented by a tobacco harm reduction approach. According to them, the combination of the two approaches has the potential to accelerate the decline in smoking prevalence compared to relying solely on traditional control policies.

"Focusing on strategies to reduce the risks of burning tobacco is an important element to support the sustainability of the trend of reducing smoking prevalence," wrote the researchers.

The Chairman of the Indonesian Free TAR Coalition (KABAR) Ariyo Bimmo, said New Zealand's experience showed the importance of policies that were formulated based on scientific evidence. According to Bimmo, New Zealand managed to combine tobacco control policies with tobacco harm reduction strategies supported by science-based regulation.

"Science-based regulation is important because public health policies should not be built only on public perceptions and opinions. Policies must be based on data, scientific studies, market monitoring, and periodic evaluations," said Ariyo.

He explained that science-based regulation does not mean providing unlimited freedom. Instead, the government needs to set clear and measurable standards so that every product in circulation meets aspects of safety, quality, and consumer protection.

"Science-based regulation means that the government needs to set measurable standards. For example, a ban on sales to children," explained Ariyo.

He emphasized that the lessons from New Zealand showed that what was needed was not a total ban or allowance for alternative tobacco products, but risk-based regulation.

"Ideally, what needs to be emphasized is risk-based regulation. So it's not a total ban, nor a total allowance," concluded Ariyo.