LAddictive behavior affects us all. They have a significant impact on public health and lead to a deterioration in quality of life and serious family, social and occupational disadvantages. Alcohol is responsible for 49,000 deaths per year in France and cigarettes are responsible for 75,000 deaths. For this reason, since January 1stum November, the 8the No Tobacco Month edition. This support is essential because quitting smoking for one month increases your chances of quitting by five.
However, when Public Health France recalls that 1.2 million people have taken part in the action since its inception, it is clear that the number of smokers is no longer decreasing. France still has 15 million. Tripling the pack price in twenty years reduced smoking prevalence by only four points; far from the goal of reducing the number of smokers. How can we see anything other than a failure?
It’s time to stop punishing smokers and start understanding and supporting them. We must face this reality to end the tyranny of the ideal and propose what is already working abroad. In October, African Global Health brought the 2 togethere African Conference on Health Risk Reduction, whose participants from more than 80 countries focused in particular on addiction management.
The application of a risk reduction policy is also the conclusion of a recently published report by the Parliamentary Office for the Assessment of Scientific and Technological Decisions (OPECST). Representatives and senators recognize that a smoker is not always able to stop his addiction to nicotine and that a third route that complements prevention and withdrawal has its place. They note that this strategy, which is as close as possible to the expectations of addicts, has already proven effective in the treatment of other addictions (particularly heroin addiction) and in smoking abroad, for example in the United Kingdom and Sweden.
Already in 2019, another assembly, the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE), called for the introduction of a risk reduction policy for alcohol and tobacco. The recent alcohol prevention campaign “It’s the base” shows that this starts to happen with alcohol, but not with smoking!
“Vape bashing”
Specifically: How does it work? When it comes to health, nothing is easy, especially when it comes to addictions, but there is no shortage of options. In addition to recognized nicotine replacement treatments (gums, patches, etc.) “New Products”, as the World Health Organization calls them, can provide smokers with credible options to quit smoking and reduce the risk of developing smoking-related burn diseases. Each of these new products can match a smoker’s profile depending on their habit. OPECST also states that flavors other than tobacco flavors can also play a key role.
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