Harm Reduction Science: A Costly Illusion or Promising Breakthrough?

Placed in the international context of ongoing WHO, FDA and EU led efforts to reduce the harm caused by smoking, this presentation will focus on science-based options for reducing harm. Dr David O'Reilly will argue that cigarette smoking will be one of the greatest public health problems of the 21st century without new science-based interventions and innovations. However, sensible research can, and does, offer alternatives for the current 1.3 billion (and growing) smokers worldwide. Yet, why are conventional cigarettes the only option for the majority of tobacco consumers when they are the most lethal? Why are proven safer alternatives so difficult to bring to market? What is breaking science telling us about the act of smoking itself, about replacement therapies and about the possible development of cigarettes with less harmful toxicants? Against a backdrop of too-slowly declining smoking rates in the West and significant rises in the developing world, why are public health authorities ignoring the care rights of smokers who die while trying to quit? This talk will explode some myths about tobacco today and stress the importance of scientific evidence to ensure better informed policies.