Giit ng mga eksperto, WHO tobacco convention dapat tanggapin ang harm reduction

ni Chit Luna @News | October 2, 2025

Photo File: World Health Organization (WHO)

Nanawagan ang mga eksperto sa World Health Organization (WHO) na isama ang harm reduction bilang pangunahing haligi ng mga polisiya nito sa pagtutok sa tabako.

Noong Setyembre 3, 2025 sa isang forum sa Fairmont Hotel sa Makati City, lumagda ang mga eksperto mula sa Pilipinas at iba pang bansa sa isang joint statement na nananawagan sa mga delegado ng WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) meeting sa Nobyembre na "fully integrate harm reduction into tobacco control."

"The evidence is clear: combustion kills, not nicotine. Safer alternatives exist and are effective. This is the time to stand with science and evidence," ayon sa pahayag.

Binigyang-diin ni Fred Roeder, isang health economist at presidente ng Consumer Choice Center (CCC), na "many countries have seen different results with harm reduction approaches, yet these strategies remain largely unexplored in Southeast Asian policy discussions." Ipinunto rin niya ang pananaliksik ng Public Health England na nagpapakita na ang vaping ay hindi bababa sa 95 porsyentong mas ligtas kaysa paninigarilyo. Gayunpaman, kanyang ikinalungkot na ang mga produkto gaya ng vapes at heated tobacco ay madalas na "attacked more fiercely than cigarettes."

Ayon kay Anton Israel, presidente ng Nicotine Consumers Union of the Philippines (NCUP), ang mga konsumer ay "consistently ignored, stigmatized and silenced."

"Nicotine consumers are not the enemy. We need honest education that reaches the grassroots so smokers understand that less harmful alternatives exist,” aniya.

Iginiit ni Israel na ang nalalapit na 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11) ng WHO FCTC ay pagkakataon para sa mga policymaker na "not punish us for failing to quit. Help us succeed."

Inilarawan naman ni Dr. Lorenzo Mata, presidente ng Quit for Good, ang harm reduction bilang "humanity in action." Aniya, "Harm reduction means three things in practice: offering safer alternatives when abstinence isn't possible, supporting incremental improvements instead of demanding perfection and building trust instead of shame or fear."

Ipinunto rin ni Mata ang Republic Act No. 11900 ng Pilipinas bilang patunay na "public health is not protected only by prohibition, but also through responsible, science-based regulation." Gayunman, kanyang ikinalungkot na "on the global stage, the WHO FCTC often takes a rigid stance, treating safer alternatives like vaping with the same severity as smoking."

Binigyang-diin ng mga medical expert ang epekto sa kalusugan ng patuloy na paninigarilyo ng tradisyonal na sigarilyo. Binalaan ni Urologist Dr. Rogelio Varela na ang usok ng tabako ay nagdaragdag ng panganib ng sakit sa baga at kanser, pati na rin ng mga urological na kondisyon gaya ng prostatitis at bladder cancer. “For most Filipinos, tobacco harm reduction is something that's foreign. They are not too familiar with it. I think even doctors are not too familiar and not practicing harm reduction," aniya. "So harm reduction will help us somehow decrease the amount of harm that's being brought about by these factors. And that is very important, especially for Filipinos."

Ibinunyag naman ng ekonomistang si Christopher Cabuay ng De La Salle University na umabot sa $9.8 bilyon ang gastos ng Pilipinas noong 2019 dahil sa mga sakit na may kaugnayan sa tabako, o katumbas ng 2.48 porsyento ng GDP. Iginiit niya na maaaring makatipid ang bansa ng $3.4 bilyon taun-taon kung kalahati ng mga adultong naninigarilyo ay lilipat sa harm reduction products. “The model I developed shows that fewer people would get sick, productivity losses would decline, and health care spending would go down,” paliwanag niya.

Kaugnay nito, ibinahagi ni Dr. Rohan Savio Sequeira ng India’s Society of Medically Harm Reduced Alternatives (SOMHRA) ang kaparehong projections. Aniya, “If India does a tobacco harm reduction policy which includes nicotine pouches, within 30 years, there will be 35 million lives saved just by one policy change.”

Ayon sa mga tagapagtaguyod, binale-wala ng WHO ang sariling depinisyon ng FCTC ukol sa tobacco control, na kinabibilangan ng harm reduction. “Safer alternatives to nicotine are still painted as threats instead of solutions,” ani Nancy Loucas ng Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA).

Binigyang-diin naman ni Michael Landl ng World Vapers' Alliance ang tagumpay ng Sweden. Sa pamamagitan ng pagbubuwis ng mga produkto batay sa kanilang antas ng panganib, aniya, nakamit ng Sweden ang smoking rate na mas mababa sa 6 porsyento. “Sweden is about to become the first smoke-free country in the world,” wika ni Landl. “They achieved this not through bans or punishment, but by giving people options.”