we are committed to reducing the health impact of our business.
creating A Better Tomorrow™
for public health in America
Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) is defined as “minimizing harms and decreasing total mortality and morbidity without completely eliminating tobacco and nicotine use.”*
Reynolds American believes we have the unique opportunity to reduce the health impact of our businesses by educating adult smokers on alternative, noncombustible products, and to encourage them to transition if they are uninterested in quitting tobacco altogether.
*Clearing the Smoke: Assessing the Science Base for Tobacco Harm Reduction, edited by K. Stratton et al., 2001, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25057541
Effective THR policies have the possibility to make strides in public health and reduce the burden of combustible tobacco use. These science-based policies are urgently needed to best serve public health. Without THR policies that educate adult smokers and provide access to alternative, noncombustible products, smoking rates will likely remain high.
Adult tobacco consumers who are uninterested in quitting tobacco altogether deserve to understand their options when it comes to tobacco products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has stated, “While there are no safe tobacco products, the available scientific evidence indicates that tobacco products exist on a continuum of risk.”*
*”CTP Director Discusses Opportunities and Considerations for Addressing Misperceptions About the Relative Risks of Tobacco Products Among Adults Who Smoke.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration. CTP Director Discusses Opportunities and Considerations for Addressing Misperceptions About the Relative Risks of Tobacco Products Among Adults Who Smoke | FDA
Youth should not use vapor or tobacco products of any kind, under any circumstances. Tobacco products – including noncombustible alternatives – are only intended for, and should only be used by, adult nicotine consumers. We support programs that prevent underage nicotine product use, like TruAgeTM , Right Decisions Right Now, and We Card. These programs, in conjunction with our businesses’ retailer compliance programs, and responsible marketing practices, have helped play an important role in the decline of underage nicotine product use. For more information on our commitment to youth access prevention, click here.
noncombustible product
alternatives
Combustible products, or products that burn tobacco, are the most risky; whereas noncombustible products, such as tobacco heating products, nicotine pouches, and e-cigarettes present potentially lower levels of risk.
Adult smokers who are uninterested in quitting tobacco products altogether have the option to migrate to potentially reduced risk product categories.
the risk continuum*
*Image adapted from “Continuum of Risk for Nicotine Containing Products.” Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction, 2020
resources
We encourage persons interested in tobacco harm reduction to consider all points of view and sources of information. Explore our library of resources.
creating A Better Tomorrow™ for public health in America
What A Better Tomorrow™ Means
What is Tobacco Harm Reduction or THR?
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Join us as we share the latest news, science and expert voices on THR. We’ll keep you updated on how you can take action in your community.
smokeless tobacco products
Traditional oral products, also known as smokeless tobacco products, are those containing tobacco leaf and include portioned snus, loose moist, and portioned moist oral tobacco products, among others. Different from modern oral nicotine pouches, these pouches contain tobacco leaf. However, there is no combustion when using these products.
tobacco heating products
Tobacco heating products (THP) are products in which tobacco is heated and not burned to release nicotine and generate an aerosol. The burning of a normal cigarette can reach over 900°C but the heating chamber in an electronic THP heating chamber device reaches up to 260°C, which is not a high enough temperature to create combustion. The lower temperature has the potential to result in lower yields of harmful and potentially harmful constituents compared to combustible cigarette smoke.
e-cigarettes
Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), commonly known as vaping products, are battery-powered devices that heat nicotine containing e-liquids to produce an aerosol that the consumer inhales. The atomizer – the part that produces the vapor – consists of a tiny electric heater combined with a wick made from absorbent materials such as glass fiber, cotton, or ceramic. E-liquids may contain nicotine derived from tobacco or synthetic nicotine.
nicotine pouches
Nicotine pouches, often referred to as modern oral products, are smokeless, oral, tobacco leaf-free pouches that are placed between the adult consumer’s gum and the lip to provide and release nicotine and flavors that are absorbed through the oral mucosa. Nicotine pouches do not contain tobacco leaf and may contain nicotine derived from tobacco or synthetic nicotine.
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