NAIROBI - A tobacco harm reduction advocate has called for more robust campaigns in Africa to discourage the uptake of harmful substances in favour of harmless alternatives such as smoke free products.

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Dr. Martin Agwogie, the Founder and Executive Director of Global Initiative on Substance Abuse (GISA), said if people continue using combustible tobacco products, they remain at risk of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and other smoking related health complications.

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Speaking ahead of the Tobacco Harm Reduction Exchange, which kicks off in Nairobi on Wednesday, November 27, Dr Agwogie bemoaned the slow buy-in from policy makers on the African continent to promote the provision of harmless alternatives.

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"The buy-in, ordinarily, is usually very slow because not everyone is supposed to have scientific evidence and that is why there should be strong advocacy especially driven by civic society and other stakeholders,” Dr Agwogie told The New Times.

The Harm Reduction Exchange will engage scientists, health policy experts and harm reduction advocates together with media stakeholders. There has been global investment on innovation to boost harm reduction, which seeks to minimize the negative health impacts of tobacco use for those unable or unwilling to quit.

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Tobacco Harm Reduction has emerged as an effective and vital complementary strategy to traditional tobacco control methods. Tobacco-related diseases are a significant public health burden in Africa, leading to millions of premature deaths each year.

Experts say cigarette smoking is spreading even more in middle- and low-income countries and are warning that without embracing Tobacco Harm Reduction, smoking will likely continue to be one of the biggest public health burdens over the next decade.

According to estimates from the World Health Organization's 2023 Key Facts, around 80% of the world's 1.3 billion tobacco users live in low- and middle-income countries.

Tobacco Harm Reduction is a global trend supported by several public health experts, policymakers, and advocacy organizations. It involves providing tobacco users who are unwilling or unable to quit using nicotine products with less harmful nicotine-containing products for continued use.

Eight million deaths every year

Experts say by actively participating in harm reduction initiatives, Africa should align with international best practices and benefit from shared knowledge, resources, and experiences.

According to WHO, tobacco causes 8 million deaths every year.

The UN health agency says that the benefits of quitting tobacco are almost immediate. After just 20 minutes of quitting smoking, it says, your heart rate improves. Within 1-9 months, coughing and shortness of breath decrease. Within 5-15 years, your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker. Within 10 years, your lung cancer death rate is about half that of a smoker. Within 15 years, your risk of heart disease is that of a non-smoker.