EXPERTS on Wednesday pressed the Philippine government to adopt harm reduction strategies in its tobacco control policy, warning that millions of Filipino smokers remain at risk as quit rates stay low.
At a press briefing hosted by the Consumer Choice Center on Wednesday, Dr. Lorenzo Mata, president of Quit For Good, said many physicians in the country are still unaware of harm reduction as a public health approach.
”Many doctors are not well-informed about harm reduction. Even me, before, I didn’t have any idea about harm reduction until it dawned on me that this is a very important bridge that can transition chronic smokers who cannot quit to quit completely,” Mata said.
He cited the global quit rate of only 4 percent, leaving 96 percent of the world’s 1.3 billion smokers vulnerable to smoking-related diseases.
”This has been proven by reputable institutions that harm reduction is considerably less harmful than cigarettes. Economically, if we transition at least 10 percent of smokers every year, in 10 years’ time, we have practically eliminated the problem,” he added.
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