Are harm reduction strategies evidence-based?

The pandemic served as a wake-up call for enterprises all over the world, as well as nations, to recognise what is required to mitigate risks of another global shock. Without a doubt, among the countless diseases and ailments, there are those that we can control, and among them is substance abuse.

It is possible to start with harm reduction to attain success from substance usage. Furthermore, one part of harm reduction is to comprehend the fundamental issues that customers experience. Dr. Kiran Melkote, an orthopaedic surgeon in Delhi and a member of AHRER (Association for Harm Reduction, Education, and Research), provides an in-depth analysis of current evidence-based tobacco harm reduction techniques, the challenges of quitting cold turkey, and strategies to achieve a 30 percent reduction in tobacco use by 2030.

Tobacco harm reduction – how consumers could secure the greatest public health win of the 21st Century?

Tobacco consumption remains a huge global public health problem causing over 8 million deaths annually – 1.35 million in India alone. But for every person who dies from tobacco use, over 30 live with tobacco-related illnesses which adds to the invisible toll of tobacco not captured by death rates.

Tobacco harm reduction (THR) can step in and address the needs of those who want to quit tobacco but are unable to, as well as those who are unwilling to quit tobacco – they could be transitioned to less harmful or reduced risk products to mitigate the harm caused by tobacco.