British American Tobacco Benelux - Harm reduction

Advocating harm reduction as the way forward

An increasing number in the scientific and public health community are now advocating harm reduction as the way forward for helping the 1.3 billion people worldwide who continue to smoke despite the known health risks.

In practice, this could mean that as well as traditional ‘stop smoking’ health services, smokers who’ve been unable to quit are encouraged to switch to less risky products.

However, currently only a few governments actively support this approach. There are some public health experts and organizations with concerns that not enough is known yet about the health risks of e-cigarettes and that they could undermine efforts to deformalize tobacco use. They are also suspicious of the tobacco industry’s involvement in tobacco harm reduction.

Transparency and world-class science

BAT is committed to exemplary corporate conduct and transparency across the whole business – this includes its research and development.

Being transparent about the science is central to this approach. Details of BAT’s scientific research programmes are published on a dedicated science website, www.bat-science.com . The results of scientific studies are submitted to peer-reviewed journals, and scientists present widely at leading international conferences and events.

We hope that the Group’s actions will demonstrate a continued commitment to harm reduction and that governments will carefully consider the potential benefits it can bring as part of a progressive approach to public health policy.

In case you would like to learn more about the topic, please visit our Global website: British American Tobacco - Reducing harm (bat.com)