Tholos Urges Bangladesh To Embrace Science and Harm Reduction

Earlier today, the Tholos Foundation wrote to the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh regarding reports on a proposal to ban reduced risk cigarette alternatives such as e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn products, and oral nicotine pouches. The submission aimed at educating Bangladeshi officials about the health benefits that current cigarette smokers can achieve by switching to a reduced-risk product, and the risks of banning safer alternatives.

“Bangladesh suffers over 100,000 preventable deaths due to smoking annually,” said Tim Andrews, Director of Consumer Issues at the Tholos Foundation. “Rather than reduce smoking mortality, any ban on smoking alternatives with exacerbate it. Over the past two decades, technological advancements have led to the development of lifesaving, reduced-risk alternatives. Studies have consistently shown that [they] are significantly safer than traditional cigarettes and will save lives. ”

“Providing smokers with a range of safer alternatives is critical to reducing smoking prevalence and its associated health risks. E-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches offer unique benefits tailored to different user preferences maximizing the likelihood that smokers will find a solution that works for them, thereby increasing overall quit rates.”

“The proposed ban on non-cigarette nicotine products in Bangladesh is a well-intentioned but misguided policy that risks doing more harm than good. By removing safer alternatives to combustible cigarettes, the ban would likely drive smokers back to more harmful products, increase health disparities, and create a thriving black market. A more effective approach would be to embrace harm reduction strategies, regulate non-cigarette nicotine products responsibly, and educate the public about their relative risks.”

You can read the letter in full here.