One hundred experts urge the World Health Organization to change its position on vaping and e-cigarettes.
GENEVA — One hundred experts in nicotine science, policy, public health, and medical practice have asked the 182 member-states to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control under the World Health Organization to reconsider its position on vaping devices and tobacco harm reduction strategies that include risk-reduced products like snus, tobacco-free nicotine pouches, and others.
Tobacco Reporter reports that the letter pushes back against the World Health Organization’s approach to the “misguided and unscientific drive for prohibition or excessive regulation and taxation of vaping products, heated and smokeless tobacco products, and novel oral nicotine products, such as pouches.”
Clive Bates, a renowned tobacco harm reduction advocate, published the letter to his personal blog, The Counterfactual.
“We believe that it is time for global tobacco policy to draw on the full potential of tobacco harm reduction,” the letter states.
“We hope the public health science, policy, and practitioner communities will converge on a common purpose to meet the [sustainable development goals] and to reduce the global burden of tobacco-related disease and premature mortality as quickly and deeply as possible,” the experts further argue in the letter.
Here’s the entire list of experts that signed the letter:
Manuel Linares Abad, PhD
David B. Abrams, PhD
Karolien Adriaens, PhD
Jasjit S Ahluwalia, MD, MPH, MS
Sanjay Agrawal, MD, MBChB
Philippe Arvers, MD, PhD
Frank Baeyens, PhD
Scott D. Ballin, JD
José Mª García Basterrechea, MD
Clive Bates, MA, MSc
Robert Beaglehole, MD, DSc, FRSNZ
Pavel Bém MD
Ruth Bonita MPH PhD MD (hon)
Ron Borland, PhD
John Britton, MD
Fernando Fernández Bueno, MD
Suzamme Colby, PhD
Sharon Cox, PhD
Kenneth Michael Cummings, PhD
Andrew DaRoza
Lynne Dawkins, PhD
Clifford E. Douglas, JD
Hugo Caballero Durán, MD
Allan C. Erickson
Carmen Escrig, PhD
Jean-François Etter, PhD
Patrick Fafard, PhD
Konstantinos Farsalinos, MD, MPH
Jonathan Foulds, PhD
Abigail S. Friedman, PhD
Thomas J. Glynn, PhD
Eliana Golberstein
Ernest Groman
Miguel de la Guardia PhD
Peter Hajek, PhD
Wayne Hall, PhD
Deborah Hart LLB
Cheryl Healton, MPA, DrPH
Christian Heinrich Henonin MD
Natasha A. Herrera
Maria del Mar Sangüesa Jareño, MD
Martin J Jarvis, DSc OBE
Martin Juneau , MPs, MD, FRCPC
Aparajeet Kar, MD
Imane Kendili
Milton Klun
Dr. Tan Kok Kuan, MD
Lynn T. Kozlowski, PhD
Eva Králíková, MD
George Laking, MD, PhD
Jacques Le Houezec, PhD
Karl E Lund, PhD
Clifford Garfield Mahood, O.C.
Bernhard-Michael Mayer, PhD
Olivia Maynard, PhD
Garrett McGovern, MD
Kiran Melkote, MBBS, MS
Colin Mendelsohn, MB BS
Robin Mermelstein, PhD
Faares Mili, MD
Tom Miller
Marcus Munafò, PhD
José David García Muñiz, MD, PhD
Ethan Nadelmann, PhD, JD
Raymond Niaura, PhD
Caitlin Notley, PhD
David Nutt, DM, FRCP, FRCPsych, FMedSci, DLaws
Tikki Elka Pang, PhD
Young-bum Park, PhD
César Paz y Miño, MD, PhD
Michael Pesko, PhD
Hernán Prat, MD, PhD
Lars M. Ramström, PhD
Vaughan Rees, PhD
Arleen R. Reyes, DMD, ICD, ICCDE
Steven A. Schroeder, MD
John R. Seffrin, PhD
Peter Selby MBBS, CCFP, FCFP, MHSc, dipABAM, DFASAM
Rohan Sequeira
Lion Shahab, PhD
Michael Siegel, MD, MPH
Antonio Sierra, MD, PhD
Francisco Garcia Sierra, MD
Ron Christian G. Sison, MLS(ASCPi), MPH
Andrzej Sobczak, PhD
Roberto A Sussman, PhD
David Sweanor, JD
Enrique Teran, MD, PhD
Umberto Tirelli MD
Josep María Ramón Torrell, MD, PhD
Mark Tyndall MD ScD FRCPC
Angel González Ureña, PhD
Francisco E. Urrestra. MD.
Diego Verrastro MD
Natalie Walker, PhD
Kenneth Warner, PhD
Judith Watt
Robert West PhD
Alex Wodak AM FRACP, FAChAM
Naohito Yamaguchi, MD
Read more at The Counterfactual.
