By Maurice Momanyi.
African states have been urged to adopt tobacco harm reduction strategies rather than the traditional quitting campaigns, an intervention health experts believe will significantly reduce tobacco related deaths.
A consortium of anti-smoking lobbyists mooted annual consultative workshops dubbed Harm Reduction Exchange (HRE) which advocate for alternatives to tobacco harm that are less risky and easy to quit.
Harm reduction refers to interventions aimed at reducing the negative effects of health behaviours without necessarily extinguishing the behaviours entirely or permanently.
World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least 7 million people in Africa die from direct tobacco use, while in Kenya, statistics show there are an estimated 2.8 million adult smokers with advocacy mostly centred on complete abstinence.
The experts say African governments’ regulation to allow for easy access to non-combustible products such as pouches and e-cigarettes for adult smokers who otherwise have been unable to quit the habit is the way to go if tobacco-related deaths have to be reduced.
The third edition of the annual Harm Reduction Exchange (HRE) took place in Nairobi this week where experts including the African Medical Association and the Association of Medical Councils of Africa president converged to discuss the subject of tobacco harm reduction.
From the Nairobi HRE forum, it emerged that there is urgent need for collaboration between Africa and experts in the harmonization of public healthcare regulation of Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) products, as it will enable a positive step towards reducing the harms associated with the use of the substance.
Speaking at the HRE consultative meeting themed ‘Amplifying the voice of Harm Reduction advocacy across Africa’, African Medical Association president and the Association of Medical Councils of Africa head Doctor Kgosi Letlape challenged African governments to adopt harm reduction approaches when formulating public health regulatory proposals.
“Harm reduction is a practical and transformative approach that incorporates community-driven public health strategies including prevention, risk reduction, and health promotion to empower people who use drugs and their families with the choice to live healthy and self-directed,” Doctor Letlape said.
“We hope that our lobbying efforts will spark renewed conversations on tobacco harm reduction among all stakeholders, including regulators and policymakers, which could lead to effective regulation and access to noncombustible product alternatives for adult smokers who are unable or uninterested in quitting.”
The anti-smoking advocates observed that there are limited human rights and a bias in the social perception that has been created around smoking which creates the challenge around harm reduction efforts. There is need, they concur, to incorporate community driven public health strategies including prevention, risk reduction and health promotion to empower active and passive tobacco and other drug users with a choice to live healthy and self-directed.
On her part, Integra Africa principal, Doctor Tendai Mhizha used the occasion to underscore the critical role played by media stakeholders in informing, advocating and sensitizing the public on tobacco harm reduction as they have been doing, for instance, with HIV/AIDS, road safety and environmental conservation and climate change mitigation.
“With the advent of technology, we find that misinformation and disinformation are becoming increasingly prevalent with the democratization of the information space. Moving forward, there is a need to ensure that stakeholders are well informed with current and relevant information about the science, the changes that occur and how we can advance towards a smoke-free world,” she said.
Countries like South Africa have already implemented THR policies and programs by legalizing the sale of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Kenya is also considering legalizing e-cigarettes.
