Big Question 6 - What is the Risk of Using Smokeless Products Compared to Smoking?

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17 September 2024
CHAPTER 2 . THE BIG QUESTIONS

Big Question 6 - What is the Risk of Using Smokeless Products Compared to Smoking?

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KEY SUMMARY POINTS

01

Scientific evidence confirms that Smokeless Products emit fewer and lower levels of harmful chemicals than cigarettes.

02

Fewer and lower levels of harmful chemicals in Smokeless Product emissions means lower levels of exposure for consumers, compared to smoking.

03

While Smokeless Products have a lower risk profile than smoking, they are not risk free.


The Omni™ summarises the public health impact of smoking in Chapter 3, and the scientific evidence behind our Smokeless Products in Chapter 4.

 

In terms of epidemiology (the study and analysis of the distribution, patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population), we know that when people smoke cigarettes, their risk of smoking-related diseases increases. While quitting is beneficial at any age, people who quit smoking by age 40 will largely see their relative risks of smoking-related disease return to those of 'never smokers'.[2] We also know that while oral smokeless tobacco products are not risk free, people who use them have a disease risk level substantially lower than that of adult smokers.

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A continuum of risk

Scientific research has demonstrated that Smokeless Products produce fewer and lower levels of harmful chemicals, compared to cigarettes, and expose Smokeless Product consumers to lower levels of harmful chemicals, compared to smoking. We have built a ‘weight of evidence’ for each category - Heated Products, Oral Nicotine Pouches, Oral Tobacco Products and Vapour Products - based on the scientific assessment of emissions (what comes out of the product), exposure (what consumers take in) and potential comparative health risks at both an individual and population level.

 

A seminal study was conducted by Professor David Nutt using an international expert panel convened by the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs that developed a multicriteria decision analysis model of the relative importance of different types of harm related to the use of nicotine-containing products.[3] Different types of tobacco and nicotine products were then placed on a continuum of risk relative to cigarettes (the most risky form of tobacco use) and cessation (the measure that most effectively avoids harm from tobacco or nicotine use), Figure 1. The U.S. FDA has similarly recognised such a continuum of risk, noting the importance of making the public aware that: “The available scientific evidence indicates that tobacco products exist on a continuum of risk, with cigarettes being the most harmful.”[4]

 

The future

As the relevant science evolves, new clinical and population assessment methodologies will further advance our knowledge, to give us even deeper insights into the impact of Smokeless Products on disease-relevant harm reduction.

Figure 1. A model continuum of risk of tobacco and nicotine products

Figure 1. A model continuum of risk of tobacco and nicotine products

THR Evidence: Global Perspectives

Stakeholders including regulators, public health Care Excellence (NICE) and academic researchers have published studies and opinion pieces on Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR). This summary provides a snapshot into global 3rd party scientists' views on THR.

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Reference

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