What France's new Tobacco research means for India's evolving public health approach

The French Ministry of Health has updated its official position on smokeless tobacco products following a recent report by the French Agency for Food Safety Environment and Occupational Health ANSESAfter reviewing more than 2500 scientific publications the agency concluded that while smokeless tobacco products are not riskfree their harm levels are considerably lower than those of conventional cigarettes For India this development merits careful consideration within the countrys broader public health contextThe central finding from ANSES rests on a straightforward but important distinction smokeless tobacco products do not burn and therefore do not produce smoke It is combustion that generates more than 7000 toxic chemicals found in cigarette smoke including aldehydes that damage the respiratory system By eliminating combustion these products remove the primary driver of smokingrelated diseaseANSES was careful in its assessment The longterm risks of smokeless products are characterised as likely rather than conclusively proven simply because longterm data does not yet exist in the way it does for cigarettes But decades of research have firmly established the devastating effects of conventional cigarettes and that asymmetry in evidence itself is significantBeyond France a nationwide South Korean study published in the European Journal of Cardiology found that among heart disease patients who switched completely to smokeless tobacco the reduction in major cardiovascular risk was equivalent to quitting smoking entirely Researchers attributed this to the absence of tar and carbon monoxide substances that directly damage blood vesselsSeveral countries are quietly moving away from blanket prohibition and towards what public health experts call harm reduction meeting smokers where they are rather than where policymakers wish they wereThe United Kingdom launched its Swap to Stop programme in 2023 distributing smokeless tobacco product kits alongside behavioural support to help smokers transition Since its launch approximately 125000 people have attempted to quit cigarettes through the programmeDr Vera Buss Senior Research Fellow in Behavioural Sciences at University College London noted that people using smokeless tobacco products are about 5037 more likely to successfully quit smoking compared to those using other nicotinereplacement therapiesJapan one of the worlds largest heated tobacco markets has tracked what happens when smokers switch and the data on relapse is striking The rate of returning to cigarettes after switching to smokeless products stands at just 05137 with no upward trend In South Korea heated tobacco products captured 10637 of the tobacco market by 2020 and survey data showed that 99437 of users were current or former smokers not new initiatesIndia has made remarkable strides in tobacco control over the decades driven by a genuine commitment to protecting public health and the wellbeing of its citizens The governments efforts from strong pictorial warnings to robust public awareness campaigns reflect a consistent and caring approach to reducing tobaccorelated harm However tobaccorelated illness does remain a concern that the government takes seriously and continued dialogue around evolving regulatory frameworks is both natural and necessary As the global landscape changes there may be an opportunity for a thoughtful evidencebased review of how these products are regulated distinct from conventional cigarettesThe French findings are not an isolated opinion Countries like France the UK Japan Germany and the United States have refined it using scientific evaluation to distinguish between product categories and regulate accordingly Harm reduction does not mean harm acceptance It means acknowledging that for millions of dependent smokers an intermediate step towards cessation is more realistic than an immediate oneThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever