The Dark Mode option allows you to save up to 30% of battery.Reduce your ecological footprint.know moreSave on your electricity with MEO Energia.Simulate here.Follow the Science topic and receive an alert as soon as a new article is published.At least of cigarettes.The WHO says that by 2025 there will be more than a billion smokers in the world, and the best thing is to stop smoking.For those who can't, the industry has alternatives.It is for those who cannot or do not intend to give up smoking that the industry has sought to innovate and develop alternatives that are increasingly more technological and with less risk to health.For heavy smokers or for those looking for a transitional alternative to giving up cigarettes, there are increasingly sophisticated options.In addition to nicotine-based smoking cessation medications and electronic cigarettes, with or without nicotine, there are now smokeless heated tobacco devices.The fight against smoking remains the objective, but in the meantime tobacco consumption reinvents itself and seeks to minimize the damage.The number of smokers has been declining in recent years, but around the world, 15 billion cigarettes are still smoked a day.By 2025, the WHO wants to reduce by 30% the current number of smokers, which currently stands at around 1,250 million.The reason is simple: according to this organization, eight million people die each year from tobacco-related illnesses, an addiction responsible for 90% of all lung cancers, 75% of chronic bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema, and 25% of all ischemic heart disease.Just smoking a cigarette every day increases your risk of a heart attack by 50%.Roughly speaking, each cigarette smoked takes seven minutes of life from us.It's not good news, but it's also far from new.Infographics: Hugo Araújo (HAGA)These numbers have been known for decades, as are the mechanisms of addiction and the consequences of the most toxic components in cigarettes.We know today that, if nicotine is largely responsible for the addictive aspect of tobacco, tobacco is the real cause of its harm.It is estimated that more than 4,000 chemical compounds are present in it, and at least 60 are potentially cancer-causing."In addition to acetone, tobacco smoke contains carbon monoxide (present in automobile exhaust gases), DDT (insecticide), methanol (fuel), toluene (industrial solvent), naphthalene (present in "mothballs"), cadmium (component of car batteries), butane (fuel for lighters)”, can be read on the website of the Directorate General for Health (DGS).It is this factor that also explains that around 600,000 of the deaths caused by tobacco are passive smokers, that is, non-smokers who are exposed to tobacco smoke.And it's also what makes the industry have spent the last few years looking for non-combustible, smoke-free, tar-free, and nicotine-containing alternatives to ensure that cigarette smokers find these alternatives satisfactory and completely change their consumption habits. .In addition to the addictive effect of nicotine, the fact that the harmful effects of tobacco are deferred over time is one of the explanations for the lack of motivation to quit smoking.We can blame the Spanish explorers who brought tobacco from the Andes in the 16th century.Or the French ambassador in Portugal Jean Nicot (from where the term nicotine comes) who loved it and advertised it as a therapeutic for migraines.It is certain that tobacco quickly changed from being a bargaining chip for the purchase of slaves in Africa to being a symbol of ostentation, first in the form of a cigar and later as the most popular cigarette.PUB • CONTINUE READING BELOWEven at this point, there were those who distrusted him.Throughout history, there have been numerous initiatives determined to put an end to it, notably coming from the church or from totalitarian states like Nazi Germany.But the scientific knowledge of its harmful effects on health only appears after the 60s, as tobacco had already installed itself in the collective imagination as a synonym for status, glued to the seductive images of Humphrey Bogart, James Dean, Marlboro Man or Lucky Luke (which he left behind smoking in 1983).The first study to suggest a correlation with lung cancer dates back to 1952, by British physician Richard Doll.Seven years later, in 1959, Portugal advanced with the prohibition of smoking indoors where performances were held, but the habit still continued to be part of the daily gestures of an entire generation used to smoking at home and in the workplace.Only after accumulating more scientific evidence, in 2006, did the WHO create the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, with the aim of coordinating global restriction measures, which would lead to one of the most defining moments in anti-smoking history in Portugal: the 2007 law, which implemented the ban on smoking in all closed public spaces, revolutionizing habits practiced for decades.In Portugal, the scenario is no different from the rest of the world: it is estimated that, every 50 minutes, a person dies from tobacco-related causes.In 2019, the National Health Survey counted 1 million and 700 thousand smokers in the national territory, about 17% of the population.And more: only 15% of those who smoke manage to quit smoking.Of those who smoke, in 2020, 66% say they have never tried to quit, and only 34% have tried to do so, according to the latest Eurobarometer data.Infographics: Hugo Araújo (HAGA)It is known that “smoking cessation is often a difficult process and subject to multiple relapses”, reads on the DGS website.Consultations for intensive support for smoking cessation made available in health centers and hospitals are the most visible face of public policies to combat smoking and have been increasing (there were 31,800 in 2017, 3.5% more than in 2015), together with the use of anti-smoking drugs — which were reimbursed again in 2017, an investment of around one million euros that doubled the consumption of these drugs.Still, according to DGS, almost half of Portuguese smokers never made any attempt to stop smoking.It is for those who want to continue smoking that the new cigarette formats can make a difference, stress industry officials.It makes sense to offer alternatives with less risk if technology permits and if these products are affordable, and substantiated by scientific evidence.Not being innocuous, they are less bad, they argue.In the US, the American Agency for Food Safety and Medicine (FDA), authorized, in 2019, the marketing of a heated tobacco device (the IQOS of Philip Morris International, of which Tobacco is a subsidiary), and later , in July 2020, spoke again now with a marketing authorization for "Modified Risk Tobacco Product", with information on exposure reduction, assuming as credible the scientific studies that demonstrate that these new tobacco products heat up tobacco , but they do not burn it (they do not burn, nor do they produce smoke and tar), and this significantly reduces the production of harmful and potentially harmful chemical constituents, and that these same studies show that the complete replacement of conventional cigarettes with heated tobacco significantly reduces the exposure of the organism to these same constituents.In short, these new products are significantly different from conventional cigarettes, and while not without risk they are a less bad choice than smoking conventional tobacco.The United Kingdom already contemplates the possibility of using these alternative devices in the national health system's smoking cessation consultations, but European health authorities, as well as the WHO, are demanding more independent studies before taking similar steps.In Portugal, DGS does not recommend these devices either.The 2017 amendment to the tobacco law even made the new devices equivalent to tobacco, which are now subject to the same consumption limitations in public spaces, for example, despite not emitting secondhand smoke harmful to third parties.Even with these setbacks, the industry's enthusiasm for the revolution that technology and scientific research can bring to this market is evident.So much so that the executive chairman of PMI admitted, in an interview with the BBC, in November 2019, that the company could stop manufacturing conventional cigarettes in 2025, as smokers transition to these new ways of smoking.In statements to Público newspaper, in April 2019, the Deputy General Director of the Service for Intervention in Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies, Manuel Cardoso, also predicted that “more day, less day”, health authorities will have to “make a decision ” regarding the inclusion of new forms of nicotine ingestion in harm reduction policies associated with substance use.The first-line drugs used in smoking cessation consultations are nicotine, varenicline and bupropion, in treatments that typically last eight to 12 weeks.Nicotine continues to be the most popular, with formulas for oral administration (tablets and sucking tablets, chewing gum, orodispersible films), or transdermally (adhesives), in different dosages.Price free and not subject to a prescription, it had a total of 69,000 packages sold in 2018, according to Infarmed.As for alternatives to conventional cigarettes, the first to emerge was the electronic cigarette, a device that uses a battery and dispenses liquid nicotine, or other liquids, which are heated and vaporized, allowing for inhalation.The main component of e-liquids is propylene glycol or glycerin, in addition to the fragrances that can give them characteristic flavors, as variable as mint, chocolate, tobacco or fruit.Because they produce steam and not smoke, users call themselves “vapers” and non-smokers.As they do not contain tobacco or are subject to very high combustion temperatures (about 800º), they do not have the adverse effects associated with cigarette smoke, but the aromas that are introduced into them can also form potentially toxic substances when heated to about 350º, such as acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, acrolein and other carbonyls, so they are not innocuous, warns the Portuguese Society of Pulmonology.The fact that they are particularly attractive to younger people, due to the modern and technological look they can have, is another source of concern for policy makers.For example, JUUL, created by two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, quickly captured 70% of the US market.A recent episode about the sale of counterfeit liquids for use in these devices has also been linked to numerous deaths from severe respiratory illnesses in 2019, even prompting the US government to consider a complete ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes.More recent on the market are heated tobacco devices that promise less toxicity due to the fact that they bypass combustion (such as electronic cigarettes), but also because they manage to release nicotine at lower temperatures and in a more controlled manner than those ( around 300º).In the US, the FDA's evaluation of available scientific studies concluded that, in this device, exposure to carbon monoxide from the aerosol is comparable to ambient exposure and that the levels of acrolein and formaldehyde are 89% to 95% and 66% to 91 %, respectively, ie smaller than those of combustible cigarettes.Unlike electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco devices do not work with liquids or nicotine, but with units of real tobacco that is evenly heated, providing a cigarette-like taste but without the harmful effects of combustion.Similar to a small mobile phone, it works by introducing heatsticks with filter and tobacco.Currently, more than 30 independent scientific bodies and bodies – including the American Scientific Advisory Committee for Tobacco Products of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the German Institute for Risk Assessment, the Dutch Institute for Public Health and the Environment and the UK's Official Toxicity Committee, which advises the local Health Directorate, have already admitted that, while not being innocuous, the aerosol from heating tobacco significantly reduces exposure to harmful and potentially harmful constituents in smoke of cigarettes.Portugal was one of the first countries to make available the IQOS, produced by PMI, of which Tabaqueira is a subsidiary, and the director of the Portuguese factory, Marcelo Nico, has already assumed the desire to have more investment dedicated to these new products.Other tobacco companies are also investing in the area, such as British American Tobacco, with Glo and Glo Ifuse, or Japan Tobacco with Ploom and PAX.Harm reduction is a key concept that advocates of alternative methods to tobacco want to see more debated in the name of consumer health.At the Third Scientific Conference on Tobacco Harm Reduction Policies, which took place on September 24 and 25, 2020, online, some of the strongest arguments by scientists and experts convinced of the benefits of integration or at least support were broadcast. on the part of governments and health entities could do for the population.The concept of harm reduction sees as beneficial the recommendation of alternative products to cigarettes, such as electronic cigarettes (without nicotine) or heated tobacco, assuming that, not being innocuous, they are less harmful to health, which is validated by numerous studies, they can be useful for heavy smokers who have not been able to give up smoking by conventional means or simply do not want to.“New technologies are emerging and the possibility of reducing risks must be explored and supported by policy makers”, said, for example, the Greek pulmonologist Michael Toumbis, one of the 49 speakers at the event.“It's crucial to help people make more rational and informed choices.The reality is that many still think that nicotine is the most harmful and cancer-causing factor in tobacco, when cancers occur due to the toxic components caused by tobacco combustion”, recalled Tony Blair's former health consultant. public and sustainability, Clive Bates, defending that it is not true that these products normalize the act of smoking: “On the contrary, they normalize the smoking cessation through alternative means, this is true anti-smoking technology”, he pointed out.The wall of which António Costa is hostageThe PS has two candidates for PMHappy Holidays: obedience guide, no, safetyFloods.Brazil rejects humanitarian aidCheetah photography leads author to depression?São Tomé asks for support in the face of rain damageThe Futility and Pollution of Space Tourism"Strong" and "prolonged" earthquake shakes East TimorCovid-19: "The biggest health crisis in history"Off-market infrared thermometerShark Attack Kills Surfer in CaliforniaPortugal registers record breaking birthJosé Peseiro is the new Nigeria coachDid more people die from the vaccine than Covid?Hyundai ends combustion engines and fuel cellsThank you for subscribing to journalism that makes a difference.Rua 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