Tobacco Harm Reduction Month
National Tobacco Harm Reduction Month - May 1st to 30th
National Tobacco Harm Reduction Month aims to raise awareness of the importance of tobacco harm reduction and demonstrate how vaping can be a game changing tool in the battle for many to quit smoking.
Every year, over 48,000 Canadians die of smoking related diseases. Zero die of vaping.
Tobacco harm reduction (THR) is a strategy to lower the health risks to individuals and wider society associated with using tobacco products. It is an example of the concept of harm reduction, a strategy for dealing with the use of drugs. Tobacco smoking is widely acknowledged as a leading cause of illness and death, and reducing smoking is vital to public health. In Canada over 48,000 Canadians die each year from tobacco related illness.
Quitting all tobacco products definitively reduces risk the most. However, quitting is difficult, and even approved smoking cessation methods have a low success rate. In addition, some smokers may be unable or unwilling to achieve abstinence. Harm reduction is likely of substantial benefit to these smokers and public health Providing reduced-harm alternatives to smokers is likely to result in lower total population risk than pursuing abstinence-only policies.
What is Harm Reduction
Harm reduction focuses on helping individuals, in a safe and healthy manner to battle addiction and substance abuse. The harm reduction model centres around providing an individual with the support and the tools that don’t stop them from using a certain substance but instead modify how or what they use to create less harm for themselves.
Harm reduction is accepted in many other areas of life: seatbelts, helmets, etc. But it is less accepted when it comes to smoking. Vaping allows an individual to not have to abstain from nicotine completely, which for many is practically impossible.
Many health organizations around the world acknowledge that vaping is less harmful than smoking. But, here in Canada, we are still implementing draconian regulations that make vaping less available, accessible and affordable to adult smokers looking for an alternative to smoking.
Why is Harm Reduction important?
Harm reduction is so important because it acknowledges the truth: that most individuals who battle addiction and substance abuse are not able to stop using completely. It is a more effective and safer way for people to seek help and reduce consumption. It also keeps individuals engaged and less people quit their journeys to getting better.
