Assessing the Efficacy of THR Interventions

WHITE PAPER

Assessing the Efficacy of THR Interventions

in Brazil, China, Egypt, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey

BY BEN KELSEY, NATALIE SEARLE, ANA CARBALLO and DAVID LAWSON

Funded by the Global Action to End Smoking and in collaboration with Inter Scientific Limited

Tobacco smoking poses a significant public health risk, causing approximately eight million deaths annually. Global Action to End Smoking is actively working to reduce tobacco harm, particularly focusing on marginalized communities and low- and middle-income countries.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has published the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), including strategies for eliminating or reducing the consumption of tobacco products to accelerate the reduction of tobacco harm.

Cambridge Design Partnership and Inter Scientific Limited conducted a systematic review and quantitative assessment of the availability, awareness, efficacy and legal status of tobacco harm reduction (THR) interventions in six countries – Brazil, China, Egypt, Indonesia, South Africa, and Turkey – each representing a separate WHO region.

This white paper presents the findings of the review to navigate the complexity of tobacco harm reduction and evaluate which interventions are proving most efficacious. This includes the use of pharmacotherapy in combination with human-factor interventions, as well as the potential for increased adoption of novel smoking cessation aids including heated tobacco, snus, and oral NPs in the future.