{"id":5503,"date":"2021-09-28T09:21:33","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T07:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/?p=5503"},"modified":"2021-09-28T11:33:58","modified_gmt":"2021-09-28T09:33:58","slug":"snus-best-thing-that-has-ever-happened-in-scandinavia-medical-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/en\/snus-best-thing-that-has-ever-happened-in-scandinavia-medical-expert\/","title":{"rendered":"Snus \u2018best thing that ever happened\u2019 in Scandinavia: medical expert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dr. Kgosi Letlape, head of the Africa Medical Association, has hailed snus for its ability to help cut smoking rates across Scandinavia. He also expressed frustration at moves to ban Swedish snus and other reduced-risk nicotine products.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snus, said Letlape, is \u201cprobably the best thing that ever happened in the Scandinavian countries\u201d when it came to reducing smoking and tobacco mortality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His remarks came during the GTNF 2021 conference in London<\/a>, where Letlape was speaking on a panel about regulatory policy trends globally and locally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Letlape also criticized the WHO\u2019s existing Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)<\/a> calling it a \u201cpatchwork\u201d focusing almost exclusively on combustible cigarettes that \u201cwasn\u2019t designed for any harm reduction products\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He went on to express his frustration at how the FCTC treated snus, which at the time of the convention\u2019s creation was the primary non-combustible alternative available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll they could do with it was promote having it banned,\u201d he said, despite nearly four decades of evidence of its positive effects on smoking rates and public health in Sweden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snus behind Sweden\u2019s low smoking rates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sweden, the only country in the EU where snus is not banned, has long had among the lowest smoking rates in the EU<\/a>.  According to recent EU data, Sweden\u2019s smoking rate has fallen to 6 percent, affirming Sweden\u2019s status as the EU member state with the lowest smoking rate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, snus use is considered a major factor in explaining why men in Sweden have a significantly lower chance of dying from tobacco-related illnesses<\/a> compared to men elsewhere in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snus in Scandinavia:<\/strong> Why smoking is down more in Norway than Australia<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Letlape, the way snus was handled in the creation of FCTC is \u201cno different\u201d than what low-risk nicotine products are facing now, including unfounded gateway theories and false claims that they are as dangerous as combustible cigarettes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He faulted regulators for failing to fulfill their responsibility to properly educate themselves on the relative risks of new products and instead choose the easy path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe easiest thing to do is to ban the stuff because they don’t know what to do with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Regulation should be based on science and truth\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But rather than continuing to criticize the WHO for its shortcomings, Letlape took a more sympathetic tone, saying it\u2019s \u201can organization that needs help\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He urged harm reduction advocates and other stakeholders to be proactive in helping the WHO recognize that the FCTC is an \u201cinappropriate\u201d tool for combating smoking and protecting public health as it was not meant to regulate new reduced-risk products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snus in Scandinavia: <\/strong>Sweden on track to be world\u2019s first smoke-free country<\/a> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than talking about \u201ctobacco control\u201d, Letlape argued leaders in Africa and elsewhere should instead speak about \u201cnicotine control\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing that governments will not ban nicotine replacement therapy, but want to ban other forms of delivering nicotine that avoid combustion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He hoped that governments in Africa would \u201ctake their heads out of the sand\u201d and engage in a dialogue about \u201crisk-proportionate\u201d regulations and accepting that the greatest risk comes from combustible tobacco products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRegulation should be based on science and truth,\u201d Letlape concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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