Experts State Harm Reduction Potential
Experts at the Next Generation Nicotine Delivery conference highlight vaping’s potential to save millions of lives by 2060 and Clive Bates details the facts about nicotine
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by Dave Cross
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At the Next Generation Nicotine Delivery USA 2025 conference, Dr. Derek Yach, renowned global health strategist, presented compelling new research projecting that integrating Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) strategies with traditional tobacco control measures could save over 14 million lives in 23 countries across all continents by 2060. These lives saved are between 25 and 50 percent more than projected to be saved if current WHO measures were fully implemented. Meanwhile, harm reduction expert Clive Bates has detailed facts about nicotine.
Dr. Yach’s analysis, based on WHO estimates and a conservative expert consensus, demonstrates that expanding access to tobacco harm reduction (TDR) and nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs), alongside improved lung cancer management, can dramatically accelerate declines in smoking-related deaths.
Recent country-specific reports highlight the potential impact: Indonesia could see the largest gains with an additional 4 616 000 lives saved using THR products. Figures for other countries include 2 040 000 in Japan, 1 364 000 in Brazil, 1 200 000 in Pakistan, 220 000 in Saudi Arabia, and 280 000 in Czechia.
Progress is underway in some of these countries. Japan has cut cigarette smoking by 50% over 8 years due to heated tobacco product use, Pakistan is seeing toxic smokeless tobacco products being displaced by nicotine pouches, and Czechia supports THR as part of a national harm reduction strategy. Several countries however are yet to embraced THR with some, like Brazil, prohibiting vape use.
The presentation calls for a “step change in ambition” in global tobacco control, urging governments, physicians, and public health organizations to fully embrace harm reduction, regulate THR proportionately, and invest in national research capacity. Dr. Yach emphasizes that with bold action, millions of lives can be saved, especially in low- and middle-income countries where the burden of tobacco-related disease remains high.
Helping those policy makers come to sensible decisions, tobacco harm reduction expert Clive Bates has issued a policy briefing: Nicotine for policymakers.
Clive states that nicotine is a stimulant that reduces stress and anxiety and improves aspects of cognitive function.
“Nicotine does not cause drug effects like intoxication, oblivion, hallucinations, or violence. It may also have therapeutic benefits, showing promise for some inflammatory diseases, ADHD, and Parkinson’s Disease, among others,” he explains.
He reminds policymakers that nicotine does not cause cancer, heart disease or lung illnesses.
He continues: “It is now commonplace to cite Michael Russell’s 1976 insight, ‘People smoke for the nicotine but die from the tar’, to convey the idea that it is not the nicotine that is the primary direct cause of disease and death arising from smoking. It is the reason people smoke and, as a result, expose themselves to thousands of toxicants in cigarette smoke. That insight still holds true today.”
References:
- Tobacco Harm Reduction.net reports - https://tobaccoharmreduction.net/report-hub/
- Nicotine for policymakers - https://clivebates.com/documents/EB5nicotine.pdf
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Author
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave 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.
