The doctor and spokesperson for the Platform for the Reduction of Tobacco Harm, Fernando Fernandez Well, This Monday, he asked to “increase taxes on traditional cigarettes” and “especially” on rolling tobacco, because he considers that these are the products most consumed by young people. And the platform detailed that the consumption of these two types of tobacco represents approximately 95 percent of total tobacco purchases in Spain.
Fernández Bueno explained at the VII Scientific Summit on Tobacco Harm Reduction, held in Athens, that “the reform of the anti-smoking law, announced by the Ministry of Health, is a good opportunity to incorporate proposals that provide realistic solutions for smokers” and to integrate in an encouraging way the measures already implemented in Sweden or the United Kingdom.
In this sense, he insisted that “quitting smoking is not easy” and that “more than 4.5 million Spaniards, men and women, do not consider quitting smoking or do not succeed despite trying with the usual means”, for what he considers “Health authorities are obliged to propose realistic solutions, based on scientific evidence and adapted to the new times for smokers who cannot quit smoking with traditional methods or who do not want to stop consuming nicotine.
On the other hand, he surgical oncologist at Gómez Ulla Hospital insisted that “the new smoking law must be based on science and empirical data, avoiding value judgments without a solid basis or preconceived ideas.”
The doctor believes that “There are scientific publications that demonstrate the potential of harm reduction alternatives, such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, oral nicotine products for smoking cessation.”
Finally, the platform’s spokesperson stressed the importance of “finding a balance between a regulation that has the absolute priority of protecting the youngest, and at the same time that there are adequate mechanisms to guarantee informed access to these options by adult users” smokers, as well as the need to “implement training programs for health professionals (public and private) on the characteristics of these tools and the cases in which they can play a beneficial role.”
