Nicotineproducten zonder tabak

Reactie

Vraag1

Dear Dutch Authorities,

My name is Dimitry Richter and I’m a Cardiologist specialized on minimization of CVDs’ risk factors like Atherosclerosis and Smoking.
As a physician and EU citizen, I appreciate your efforts (i) for a smoke free generation by 2040 and (ii) to support smokers who want to quit and reduce the smoking prevalence among adult population to less than 5%. But although, the majority of smokers are aware that smoking will decrease their life expectancy by 10 years on average, they still find it difficult to stop smoking
In this modern era, the scientific community but also regulatory authorities are facing a huge moral dilemma for those smokers who systematically fail to quit. Do we consider alternative smoking products which offer a reduced but existing exposure to harmful chemicals as part of the solution or approaches like prohibition and banning of the new tobacco /nicotine products is the only way for Tobacco Control?
I have seen your proposal for ban of nicotine pouches, and this reminded me the SNUS case. Since 1992, the sales of snus is expressly prohibited in most EU countries, with only Sweden, and Norway and recently Switzerland, receiving an exemption. This is one of the most paradoxical cases where the EU authorities allow the sale of conventional cigarettes and prohibit the sale of an alternative tobacco product where scientific evidence, including long-term epidemiological studies, shows a lower risk of cancer, heart disease and chronic bronchitis.
Prohibition doesn’t work in real life. A regulatory framework that will protect the youth from all the nicotine/tobacco product but at the same time will support those smokers that cannot quit to switch to a less harmful alternative could be the driver for achieving the ambitious target for smoke free generation and less than 5% smoking prevalence by 2040.
Please download the attached pdf for more information on how we should regulate the alternative tobacco and nicotine novel products from a medical doctor’s point of view based on my article that was published at the e-Journal of Cardiology Practice of European Society of Cardiology

Bijlage