Timberlake Presentation

Title: The future of harm reduction in tobacco control

Speaker:

Dr. David Timberlake, Assistant Professor at Department of Health Sciences/Public Health, University of California, Irvine

Summary:

The future of harm reduction in tobacco control. Traditional tobacco-control measures, such as enactment of smoke-free policies, have been highly effective in curtailing smoking rates. But, speculation abounds over whether we have reached the nadir in smoking prevalence in the United States.

This may be attributed to the remaining inveterate smokers who infrequently utilize proven smoking cessation aids. Drawing on what some consider a natural experiment in Sweden, academicians and public health practitioners have debated the merits and pitfalls of promoting less harmful tobacco alternatives for smoking cessation, notably spit-less snuff (i.e. Snus). The purpose of my talk is to review the epidemiologic and policy issues over the debate and the potential role of harm reduction in tobacco control.