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Nicotine, present in tobacco smoke or e-cigarette liquid, causes severe physical and psychological dependence, leading to withdrawal symptoms when quitting smoking. A person continues to use tobacco not to feel good, but not to feel bad. Nicotine disrupts neurotransmitters in the brain, which are responsible for well-being and the thinking system, and carbon monoxide (an odor) and carcinogens cause cardiovascular, lung, and cancer diseases.
The major health consequences are not immediately apparent, so most smokers overestimate their chances of not getting sick.
To reduce the harm of this addiction, states implement various harm reduction policies and anti-smoking measures. In Lithuania, we are used to a policy of “restriction and prohibition”, and it is necessary; some bans or regulations in the field of tobacco control are much needed. First, protect those who have not yet started smoking, especially children and young people, whose brains are particularly sensitive to the effects of nicotine and whose addiction to tobacco develops much faster.
For people who are already addicted to nicotine, bans are not an effective tool, they need help with symptoms to quit smoking and / or cognitive behavioral therapy.
Neither complex assistance nor discussion
Nicotine addicts themselves are looking for ways to do less harm to their health. At present, smokers in Lithuania cannot receive comprehensive care because there is no support system for quitters and treatment options for tobacco dependence or less harmful alternatives for tobacco use are generally not discussed. who are not. appropriate.
Traditional methods of quitting smoking, such as the use of medications, cognitive-behavioral therapy, require financial and psychological resources: a commitment to change behavior, plan, and not smoke. It is being considered that adults who, for reasons important to them, are unprepared or unwilling to quit smoking but are looking for less harmful alternatives, could reduce their health risks through the use of smokeless tobacco products. The recent experience of Germany is therefore important and debatable.
Germany, like Lithuania, has ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and is committed to implementing harm reduction strategies. A law banning cigarette advertising was passed in Germany last year. German researchers welcome the move, but say it is far from sufficient. Also, as in Lithuania, there is not enough information on alternative products for smokers.
must inform health institutions.
Are attitudes towards alternative products changing?
German researchers have issued recommendations on tobacco use and harm reduction for the country’s authorities, doctors, employers and smokers. The guidelines state that alternative tobacco products (such as e-cigarettes or incandescent tobacco devices), while clearly not harmless, are a less harmful alternative to not being able to quit smoking regular cigarettes. If it is not possible to stop smoking immediately, this is the best thing you can do for your health, it is recommended to switch to alternative products and ideally gradually reduce nicotine levels and eventually leave the products smokeless.
The attitude of several countries and health organizations, including Lithuania, towards alternative tobacco products is more negative, but the changes are being observed in the UK and Australia, and now German researchers are joining them.
More lives can be saved
Currently, there is insufficient evidence from systematic reviews that alternative tobacco products can be recommended as a means of smoking cessation. More research is also needed to evaluate the effectiveness of alternative tobacco products as a means of quitting smoking. Additionally, the use of smokeless products due to the presence of carcinogens and other substances can still cause tobacco-related illnesses, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and lung disease.
However, as a smoking cessation specialist and GP, I agree that e-cigarettes and other smokeless nicotine products are less harmful to health compared to regular smoking for adults who do not want to quit smoking or who already suffer from serious and advanced diseases and comprehensive smoking. help to quit smoking is more difficult to access.
There is currently a global debate on how to reduce the harm to adult tobacco users who are already addicted to tobacco and, on the other hand, strengthen the regulation and education of children, adolescents and their parents so that conventional and alternative tobacco measures do not reach young people who are inclined to experiment.
Research shows that “turning off” the combustion process can save more lives and more years of healthy life. Smoking is a disease and can be treated like diabetes or high blood pressure. However, this requires appropriate skills and information that, according to German researchers, are lacking not only for patients but also for doctors themselves.
30 second rule
The most important thing anyone who smokes tobacco or uses other nicotine products can do to improve their current and future health is to stop smoking and using tobacco.
All health professionals are responsible for giving very brief advice on smoking, the so-called 30 seconds. a rule of three steps:
1) wonder if the person smokes, does not smoke, stops smoking;
2) it is advised that the most effective way to quit smoking is to use drugs to treat tobacco dependence and psychological support;
3) act: if the patient agrees, refer him to a specialist in smoking cessation and, if not, to a family doctor and / or specialist in cognitive-behavioral therapy (psychologist), if the person refuses, respect your self-awareness, and if you ask about e-cigarettes or other smokeless products, when discussing the possibility of discarding, discontinuing, or temporarily abstaining from patients, we are responsible for informing you that using an e-cigarette is much safer than smoking.
