A statement by the ERS Tobacco Control Committee
The ERS Tobacco Control Committee (TCC) published the position paper on tobacco harm reduction in May 2019.
The ERS TCC believe that current strategies which support the use of alternative nicotine delivery products for smoking cessation are not effective as they are based upon incorrect assumptions and undocumented claims about the safety and effectiveness of alternative nicotine delivery products for smoking cessation.
Therefore, the statement brings together scientifically-backed arguments for why a tobacco harm reduction strategy should not be used as a population-based strategy in tobacco control, including that harm reduction arguments are:
- Based on incorrect claims that smokers cannot or will not quit smoking
- Reliant upon undocumented assumptions that alternative nicotine delivery products are highly effective as a smoking cessation aid
- Built on incorrect assumptions that smokers will replace conventional cigarettes with alternative nicotine delivery products
- Ignorant to the lack of evidence to show that alternative nicotine delivery products are safe for human health
Position documents
- Access the full position paper for more information – published May 2019
- Read the ERS Tobacco Control Committee editorial ‘ERS and tobacco harm reduction’ – published December 2019