【世界卫生组织-2025研报】WHO position on Tobacco Control and Harm Reduction.pdfVIP

WHOpositiononTobacco

ControlandHarmReduction

Tobaccoandnicotineproductcompanies,andassociatedfrontgroups,areincreasingly

promotingarangeoftobacco,nicotineandrelatedproducts.Theyclaimtheseproducts

poselowerriskstohealththanconventionalcigarettesandcanbepartofa‘harm

reduction’approachtotobaccocontrol.Theseproductsfrequentlyincludeelectronic

cigarettes(e-cigarettes),nicotinepouches,heatedtobaccoproducts(HTPs)andsmokeless

tobaccoproducts.

However,tobaccocompanieshavealonghistoryofdishonestlydownplayingtheharms

causedbytheirproducts(1).Thisincludesuseofmisleadingdescriptorsforcigarette

variantslike‘light’and‘mild’,useoffilterstosuggestreducedharm,andknowingly

engineeringproductstofoolmachine-basedtesting(2).Andthisisnotallinthe

past,astheycontinuetomisleadconsumersandauthoritiesabouttherisksposed

bytheirproducts(3).Thisformspartofaprofit-drivenstrategytogrowandsustain

tobaccocompanybusinessesbyexpandingtheircustomerbaseormarketshare,while

underminingtobaccocontrolpoliciesbyarguingforalargelyunregulatedorlightly

regulatedcommercialmarket.

Theindustryengagesinmassmarketingofharmfulproductstothepublicatlarge,while

cloakingthatconductinthepublichealthlanguageofharmreduction.Thisconduct

canbecontrastedwithgenuineharmreductionprogrammesinotherareasofpublic

health,whichseehealthactorsandagenciespursuinghealthobjectivesbyimplementing

evidence-basedstrategiesandinterventionsthataretightlycontrolledandmonitored.

1

Alltobacco,nicotineandrelatedproductsposehealthrisks,includingriskofaddiction

(4).Widevariationinproductcharacteristics(includingwithinproductcategories),and

howproductscanbemanipulatedandusedbyconsumers,limitourabilitytogeneralize

aboutthehea