States Explore Tobacco Harm Reduction

Media Contacts:

Richard Smith • 336.741.1409 • smithr19@rjrt.com
David Howard • 336.741.3489 • howardd1@rjrt.com

 


 

Broadcast News Video Covering Indiana THR Hearing:

Panel Seeks New Anti-Smoking Strategy
(click to play video at left)
WISH-TV, Indiana
September 19, 2012

Click to view video (running time: 1 minute).

 

At R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company it is a guiding principle and belief that reducing the diseases and deaths associated with the use of cigarettes serves public health goals and is in the best interest of consumers, manufacturers and society. We believe harm reduction should be the critical element of any comprehensive public policy surrounding the health consequences of tobacco use.

Recent hearings by the Illinois Consumer Protection Committee, the Indiana Health and Finance Commission and the Oklahoma Senate Committee on Health and Human Services underscore the importance and relevance of tobacco harm reduction principles.

In April 2013, an Illinois General Assembly House committee held an informational hearing to learn more about the concept of tobacco harm reduction.

In Indiana in 2013, the state Chamber of Commerce’s BizVoice publication covered tobacco harm reduction, and in 2012, the state held a hearing as the result of the Indiana General Assembly’s resolution “to establish an interim study committee for the purpose of assisting the legislature in considering the inclusion of tobacco harm reduction strategies to reduce smoking-attributable death and disease.”

Also in 2012, the Oklahoma joint House and Senate committee took a closer look at “the potential impact of policies that encourage smokers to switch from cigarettes to smokeless tobacco products.”

While no tobacco product has been shown to be safe and without risks, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco believes significant reductions in the harm associated with the use of cigarettes can be achieved by providing accurate information regarding the comparative risks of tobacco products to adult tobacco consumers, thereby encouraging smokers to migrate to the use of smoke-free tobacco and nicotine products.

We believe adult tobacco consumers have a right to be fully and accurately informed about the risks of serious diseases, the significant differences in the comparative risks of different tobacco and nicotine-based products, and the benefits of quitting. This information should be based on sound science.

 

Related Images

 


riskcontinuumpreview

Risk Continuum of Tobacco products – for illustrative purposes only


indianacapitol

Indiana State Capitol


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Oklahoma State Capitol

 

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