“Experts have written to the European Respiratory Journal (ERS), challenging the ERS policy on vaping and tobacco harm reduction and calling for it to adopt a rational approach. The ERS has recently declared that tobacco harm reduction is a failing strategy and “lacks evidence to justify the approach”. The letter was submitted to the ERS by Nicholas Hopkinson (Imperial College) and is co-signed by John Britton (UK Centre for Tobacco & Alcohol Studies), Jacob George (University of Edinburgh), Linda Bauld (University of Stirling), Sanjay Agrawal (University of Leicester), John Moxham (King’s College), Deborah Arnott (ASH), and Ann McNeill (King’s College). The experts note: “The stated policy of the European Respiratory Society is to strive ‘constantly to promote strong and evidence-based policies to reduce the burden of tobacco related diseases’.”
They say: “In our view, the recent ERS Tobacco Control Committee statement on tobacco harm reduction [linked to at the bottom of the article], though well-intentioned, appears to be based on a number of false premises and draws its conclusions from a partial account of available data. It also presents a false dichotomy between the provision of ‘conventional’ tobacco control and harm reduction approaches. We therefore respond, in turn, to the seven arguments presented against the adoption of harm reduction in the Committee’s statement.”
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