Free Harm Reduction Course

K•A•C says that smoking-related diseases continue to cause eight million global deaths each year, but nicotine is not the cause of tobacco-related illnesses. 

“For people who cannot, or will not, give up smoking, there is now a range of alternative nicotine-delivery options available that pose fewer risks to health. Encouraging as many of those who smoke to switch to these safer nicotine products (SNP) - which include nicotine vapes (e-cigarettes), heated tobacco products, nicotine pouches and snus - provides a massive opportunity for global tobacco harm reduction efforts to reduce smoking-related disease. This course promotes the evidence base for this potentially life-saving public health intervention to a wide audience.”

Since 2018, K•A•C’s groundbreaking Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship Programme (THRSP) has nurtured a new generation of tobacco harm reduction researchers and advocates. The growing alumni network - now well over 100 strong - has rapidly increased THR knowledge and capacity among populations and professional sectors in 55 countries across six continents. To build on this success, the team behind the THRSP is now providing the opportunity for all those seeking to reduce the toll of smoking to access a high-quality open access course, Understanding Tobacco Harm Reduction.

The course was developed with contributions from a range of experts in public health and tobacco harm reduction, including researchers, medical professionals, and educators dedicated to promoting health and well-being. 

Professor Gerry Stimson, co-founder of K•A•C and Emeritus Professor at Imperial College London, said: “This course is open to everyone – and there’s only one eligibility requirement, which is a desire to reduce smoking and tobacco-related harm. Maybe you smoke, or someone you love does. Maybe you work with clients or patients whose tobacco use impacts their lives. Maybe you’re interested in new ways of tackling social issues. To gain insight into this potentially game-changing public health approach, sign up for Understanding Tobacco Harm Reduction, for free.”

The modular, self-guided programme is designed to be completed over two to three hours, with an assessment to test knowledge at the end. Participants will gain a solid introduction to THR, its evidence base and its context among other long-established areas of harm reduction. They will learn how THR can complement and accelerate the impact of other policies intended to reduce smoking and tobacco-related harms.

By the end of the course, participants will know about the main types of safer nicotine product, which groups and populations can most benefit from THR, and the main debates about the role and potential of THR in public health. They will be equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to make informed decisions and advocate for effective harm reduction approaches. Participants will also be able to describe common myths about tobacco harm reduction, as well as understanding the connection between the right to health and the right to tobacco harm reduction.

Sign up at the link below.

References:

• Knowledge•Action•Change - https://kachange.eu/
• Understanding Tobacco Harm Reduction free e-learning course - https://thr.academy/academy/

Photo Credit:

• Photo by Sergey Zolkin on Unsplash

Dave Cross

Journalist at POTV

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Dave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.