THE Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) yesterday belittled claims that 75,000 Filipino smokers have shifted to heated tobacco products (HTPs), saying it does not take away the threats to their health.
In a statement, SEATCA executive director Ulysses Dorotheo said there is nothing to cheer over the conversion of smokers from traditional cigarettes to HTPs and vaping products, adding they similarly pose a threat to one’s health.
“The tobacco industry has a long history of promoting ‘safer cigarette’ innovations, such as cigarette filters, ‘light/mild’, and ‘low-tar’ cigarettes, often mislabeling these products as game-changers in public health despite their ineffectiveness in reducing health risks,” said Dorotheo.
“While HTP users may be exposed to lower concentrations of harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke, there is no evidence that this reduces health harms,” he added.
SEATCA was seconded by the anti-vaping group Parents Against Vape (PAV), which said HTPs pose similar threats to public health.
“Quitting from addiction is different from shifting to another form of addiction,” said the group, adding: “Taking a poison using a different mechanism is still taking a poison.”
According to Dorotheo, if tobacco companies were really serious about helping smokers quit, they should simply stop manufacturing cigarettes.
“If they were genuine about protecting youths from smoking, they would not have opposed smoke-free ordinances and tobacco-free generation ordinances that protected the youth from the scourge of tobacco,” said Dorotheo.
He said it would also be more genuine on the part of tobacco firms if they will stop opposing national government efforts to control smoking addiction.
