BAT presents Omni™ at Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum to advance Tobacco Harm Reduction across the globe

In her keynote speech at GTNF, Dr Round said: “Tobacco Harm Reduction represents a significant public health opportunity that cannot be ignored.

“It is my hope that Omni™ will spur dialogue with stakeholders – scientists, public health authorities, policy makers, and investors – and across the wider scientific and regulatory ecosystem related to tobacco and nicotine products.”

“I appreciate that some people might be skeptical of our motivations and actions.  Omni™ is not intended to be a panacea. It is, however, designed to underscore our commitment to science and facilitate an important conversation about Tobacco Harm Reduction.

“We’re conscious that this will only be possible through genuine dialogue. That’s why we’re inviting anyone who shares our vision – including those who might disagree with us – to review the evidence and join the conversation.” 

Omni™ is an evidence-based resource to put forward the case for Tobacco Harm Reduction at a global scale – the switching of smokers, who would otherwise continue to smoke, to smokeless alternatives. As a resource, Omni™ brings together hundreds of independent scientific studies, BAT’s own research into its innovations, and examples of Tobacco Harm Reduction in action. This includes countries like Sweden, which stands on the cusp of becoming the first country to go smokeless as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). Omni™ can be accessed at https://www.asmokelessworld.com.

This year’s GTNF theme ‘Advancing Responsible Innovation’ put the conversation around THR and nicotine, progressive and smarter regulation for smokeless products, and robust enforcement front and center. 

Among the other speakers at GTNF were Flora Okereke, (Global Head of Policy) moderating the big conversation on “Tackling Societal Concerns Through Technology”. The panelists advocated for a regulatory framework that enables Tobacco Harm Reduction – allowing adult smokers to have access to less risky alternative products, while protecting consumers with high product standards and preventing underage access. At the same time, meaningful enforcement should remain a priority, to curb the continued growth of illicit, unregulated, and inappropriate youth appealing products that continue to flood the marketplace. 

In addition to her keynote, Dr Round also hosted the panel “Talking Nicotine” with respected public health experts and scientists. One of the key challenges identified by the panelists was the fact that misconceptions about the risk of nicotine remains consistently high among adult smokers, and also within the medical community. There is clear guidance from Public Health bodies around the world that recognise while addictive, nicotine is not carcinogenic and in itself is not the primary cause of smoking related diseases: it is the toxicants generated from the combustion of tobacco. Therefore, educating adults about the risk associated with nicotine is key, otherwise, this will remain a barrier for adult smokers to switch to lower risk profile tobacco and nicotine products. 

Valerie Solomon (Head of Scientific Affairs for Tobacco Harm Reduction) hosted a panel discussion on “Innovation in a regulated environment”. As innovation continues at pace across all categories of Smokeless Products, a consistent theme throughout the discussion was the need for regulatory frameworks that foster innovation to ensure that a greater number of smokeless products, with lower risk profiles, are made available to adult smokers.