EXPERTS on Wednesday pressed the Philippine government to adopt harm reduction strategies in its tobacco control policy, warning that millions of Filipino smokers remain at risk as quit rates stay low.

At a press briefing hosted by the Consumer Choice Center on Wednesday, Dr. Lorenzo Mata, president of Quit For Good, said many physicians in the country are still unaware of harm reduction as a public health approach.

Philippine experts urge harm reduction strategy for tobacco control

”Many doctors are not well-informed about harm reduction. Even me, before, I didn’t have any idea about harm reduction until it dawned on me that this is a very important bridge that can transition chronic smokers who cannot quit to quit completely,” Mata said.

He cited the global quit rate of only 4 percent, leaving 96 percent of the world’s 1.3 billion smokers vulnerable to smoking-related diseases.

”This has been proven by reputable institutions that harm reduction is considerably less harmful than cigarettes. Economically, if we transition at least 10 percent of smokers every year, in 10 years’ time, we have practically eliminated the problem,” he added.

Dr. Rafael Valera echoed Mata’s call, noting that many Filipino doctors still rely on outdated notions about smoking. “Not all doctors are trying to reach out and look into modern data. What they learned from medical school previously is that you stop smoking or you die,” Valera said.

Economist Christopher James Cabuay of De La Salle University, who authored a peer-reviewed study in the Business and Economics Review, said the Philippines could save about 7 million annually if even 10 percent of smokers switched to noncombustible alternatives.

”The model I developed shows that fewer people would get sick, productivity losses would decline, and health care spending would go down,” Cabuay said. He added that illicit tobacco trade is making smoking prevalence rise again after years of decline.

Mata lamented that the Department of Health has yet to recognize harm reduction as part of its official policy.

”Tobacco harm reduction is not about promoting nicotine; it’s about saving lives by moving smokers away from combustion,” he said.

While Filipino experts called on the government to act, international panelists criticized the World Health Organization (WHO) for disregarding its own policy commitments to harm reduction.

Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates, pointed to Article 1(d) of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which defines tobacco control as including harm reduction.

”WHO acknowledges harm reduction in HIV and drug use, but when it comes to tobacco and nicotine, safer alternatives are painted as threats instead of solutions,” Loucas said.

She warned that misinformation — including claims that nicotine itself causes cancer — stigmatizes adults who turn to safer alternatives such as vaping, heated tobacco or nicotine pouches.

Michael Landl, director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, said global case studies show harm reduction is not just theoretical but already working in practice.

”Sweden is about to become the first smoke-free country in the world, defined as having below 5 percent smoking prevalence. They achieved this not through bans or punishment, but by giving people options — snus, nicotine pouches and vaping,” Landl said.

He added that New Zealand has followed a similar path, recording record-low smoking rates after the government endorsed vaping and other smoke-free alternatives as legitimate tools for adults who want to quit.

”These examples prove that when governments trust people with safer choices instead of treating them as criminals, lives are saved,” Landl said.

From South Asia, Dr. Rohan Savio Sequeira, a cardiovascular endocrine surgeon and professor in India, warned that the region faces a severe tobacco crisis that cannot be solved by abstinence-only approaches.

”South Asia is home to 80 percent of the world’s smokeless tobacco users, and in India alone, there are 300 million tobacco users,” Sequeira said. “Every year, 1.8 million deaths in India are linked to oral tobacco use.”

Sequeira argued that nicotine pouches offer a realistic alternative that can shift millions away from the most harmful forms of consumption.

”Evidence shows these products do not appeal to children but can make a huge difference for adults who would otherwise continue chewing tobacco or smoking. The choice should be between harmful and less harmful, not harmful and nothing,” he said.

Other experts — including Cabuay, former broadcaster Anton Israel and Consumer Choice Center’s Fred Roeder — added that proportional regulation of safer alternatives could improve public health, raise revenue and reduce illicit trade.

Philippine experts urge harm reduction strategy for tobacco control

Roeder said it was a double standard for WHO to accept harm reduction everywhere else but deny it to 1 billion smokers worldwide. “Bans and fearmongering don’t work. Access and education do,” he said., This news data comes from:http://pdg-xese-mwxu-ot.xs888999.com