Special Report by Trend (International News Agency) from
Morocco
There are topics about which it seems impossible to say anything
new. Smoking is one of them. Over the past few decades, governments
around the world have done just about everything they deemed
necessary: raised excise taxes, restricted advertising, banned
smoking in public places, and required manufacturers to print
health warnings on cigarette packs. However, despite all these
measures, there are still more than a billion smokers worldwide
today.
It was this very figure that effectively kicked off the
discussion at the Technovation Smoke-Free international conference,
held in Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Contrary to expectations,
the conference was not so much devoted to criticizing smoking — no
one here disputed that cigarettes cause serious harm to health — as
it was to finding an answer to another question.
If millions of adults continue to smoke despite all the
restrictions and warnings, can modern science offer additional ways
to reduce the risks for those who do not want to quit smoking
entirely?
It was precisely this idea that formed the basis for the
presentations by scientists, doctors, public health experts,
government officials, and journalists who had traveled to Rabat
from various countries.
In his opening remarks, Tommaso Di Giovanni, Vice President
Communications & Engagement at Philip Morris. International (PMI)
noted that the concept of harm reduction is by no means a recent
development. According to him, as early as 1997, international
public health organizations were already discussing the need to
explore any possibilities for reducing the toxicity of tobacco
products. A few years later, the U.S. Institute of Medicine
published a landmark report titled “Clearing the Smoke,” which
provided a detailed analysis of the scientific basis for tobacco
harm reduction strategies.
Di Giovanni emphasized that a vast body of scientific research
has accumulated since then, and technology has changed
significantly. According to him, innovations almost always follow
the same path: first, they are met with skepticism; then they
become the subject of scientific debate; and years later, they
receive an objective assessment based on accumulated evidence. He
believes that smoke-free alternatives to traditional cigarettes are
currently going through precisely this stage.
At the same time, as conference participants repeatedly noted,
this is by no means a search for a “safe cigarette.” The main
objective is to use science and technology to reduce the exposure
to the most dangerous substances produced by burning tobacco for
those adult smokers who continue to use cigarettes.
This topic was further explored during one of the conference’s
key discussions, the panel titled “From a Bold Vision to Tangible
Results.” PMI’s Managing Director and General Manager in Morocco,
Taylan Süer, spoke less about technology and more about the
conditions without which any innovation would be unable to make a
difference.
However, perhaps the most substantive discussion in Rabat
centered on nicotine. It was this topic that prompted the most
questions from conference participants.
One of the keynote speakers was David Khayat, a renowned French
oncologist and professor at Pierre and Marie Curie University. He
immediately proposed distinguishing between two concepts that are
often perceived as one and the same in the public consciousness:
nicotine and the effects of tobacco combustion.
According to the professor, current scientific data indicate that
the primary health risk comes from the toxic substances produced
during the combustion of tobacco. These substances contain
thousands of chemical compounds, including dozens of carcinogens,
which are the cause of most smoking-related cancers and
cardiovascular diseases.
“Very often, people believe that nicotine itself causes cancer.
However, scientific research shows that the main problem lies not
in nicotine itself, but in the products of tobacco combustion,”
Khayat noted.
At the same time, the professor deliberately returned several
times to an idea that could be called the main thesis of his
presentation. The best choice remains quitting smoking entirely.
However, medicine must take real life into account, not just ideal
scenarios.
“We know that many people don’t quit smoking. Moreover, some
patients continue to smoke even after being diagnosed with cancer.
We cannot ignore this fact. Therefore, public health authorities
must seek solutions for this group of people as well,” he
emphasized.
According to Khayat, health policy should be based first and
foremost on scientific evidence, rather than on emotional
perceptions of the problem or entrenched stereotypes. That is
precisely why the professor believes research into harm reduction
deserves serious attention from the medical community.
Another notable presentation was given by Tomoko Iida, PMI’s
Director of Scientific Engagement for Southern/Southeast Asia. She
spoke about how the company’s philosophy itself has changed in
recent years.
According to her, billions of dollars have been invested in
research and development of smoke-free products, which are now
available in more than 100 markets around the world. However, the
main goal remains not the promotion of nicotine, but the gradual
transition of adult smokers away from traditional cigarettes toward
alternatives that, according to available research, are associated
with lower exposure to harmful substances produced by burning
tobacco.
Another topic that ran through many of the conference panels
proved equally interesting: the role of Africa itself in shaping
its own public health policies. Experts from Morocco, Tunisia,
Senegal, and Libya noted that the continent is gradually moving
away from the practice of mechanically copying foreign models.
Increasingly, the focus is on original scientific research,
domestic health statistics, and solutions tailored to the specific
characteristics of individual countries. This idea extended far
beyond the topic of smoking and, in fact, concerned the future of
the entire healthcare system in Africa.
Perhaps this is precisely what set the conference in Rabat apart
from most similar events. The focus here was not so much on
specific products or technologies as on the role of science in
government decision-making. Virtually every speaker, regardless of
their profession or position, returned to the same idea: complex
problems require complex solutions, and public health policy must
be based first and foremost on scientific data and research
findings.
Leaving Technovation, I found myself thinking that the main
takeaway from these two days was not about individual statements or
new statistics at all. Far more important is the sense that the
global conversation on tobacco control is gradually changing.
Today, experts are increasingly discussing not only prohibitions
and restrictions, but also the possibilities offered by modern
science, new technologies, and the search for solutions for those
who remain outside the scope of traditional prevention methods.
Only time will tell what the results of this discussion will be.
But one thing is clear: the conversation about the future of public
health is becoming significantly deeper and more complex than it
was just a few years ago.
