5 October 2007
ASH Scotland welcomes the publication today (Friday 5th October) of the Royal College of Physician's report, 'Harm reduction in nicotine addiction: Helping people who can’t quit' today. The report makes the case for harm reduction strategies to support smokers who are unable to stop smoking, including a rethink of how nicotine replacement products could be used to replace tobacco in the longer term for smokers unable to quit. It also advocates a radical reform of the way all nicotine products including tobacco are regulated.
Maureen Moore OBE, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland commented:
“Cigarettes are highly addictive and dangerous. We know that people living in disadvantaged circumstances and in low-income communities are much more likely to smoke and will typically smoke more heavily. It's vital that effective smoking cessation services are provided for them and are made at least as easily accessible as cigarettes and tobacco.
“ASH Scotland supports the principle of harm reduction as part of a broader tobacco control strategy. Although it is nicotine which makes cigarettes addictive, it is the toxins and cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco smoke which kill. Long term use of nicotine replacement therapies would be far safer than continuing to smoke.
“We support RCP's call for a nicotine and tobacco regulatory authority. There is no safe level of tobacco use yet cigarettes are widely available with minimal controls while nicotine replacement products are strictly regulated as medicines. Smoking claims around 13,500 lives a year in Scotland, an epidemic we can't ignore.”
ENDS
For further information or requests for interviews please contact: Sheila Duffy, Director of Information & Communications on 0131 220 9477 or switchboard on 0131 225 4725; Out of hours 0777 614 2299
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