Date:2021-2-20 15:54:59 Clicks:832 【Font Size:
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Despite being promoted as a smoking cessation tool, heated tobacco products (HTPs) have been shown to reduce the likelihood of quitting conventional cigarettes. A recent study showed that HTP use is associated with smoking initiation or relapse in non-cigarette smokers.
The study was conducted by Tokyo Medical and Dental University and Osaka International Cancer Institute, Japan. Researchers followed up around 6,000 non-cigarette smokers of the Japan “Society and New Tobacco” Internet Survey (JASTIS) 2019, investigating the associations between HTP use and subsequent smoking initiation or relapse. The results showed that non-cigarette smokers who used HTPs at baseline were 66% more likely to initiate smoking or relapse after 1 year. The association was even stronger in never cigarette smokers that the likelihood of smoking initiation in HTP users were nearly 10 times that in non-users. The potential gateway effects of HTPs in inducing never smokers to initiate cigarette smoking should never be overlooked.
HTPs may set back tobacco control rather than to reduce smoking. It has to be reiterated that HTPs are not safe or less harmful alternative to conventional cigarettes, and can cause detrimental impact to health. COSH strongly urges the Legislative Council to pass the bill for a total ban on alternative smoking products, including HTPs and e-cigarettes, as soon as possible, and the Government to formulate a timeline for a total ban on smoking to achieve smoke-free Hong Kong.