The #GFN25 conference brought together some of the leading THR advocates from across the world, and in this episode of GFN Voices several of these prominent figures share their key gains and findings from this year's conference!
Transcription:
00:09 - 00:12
[Joanna Junak]
GFN this year, what made you decide to come?
00:14 - 01:10
[Jeffrey Zamora]
Well, that I'm involved, first of all, of course, and it's still a valid opportunity to engage with a lot of people, right? Here in the GFN, you see a lot of people that you don't see physically, right? Even though we have a lot of contact through social media, through messaging services and all that stuff. It's a focal point for a lot of people that are like-minded and some other people that are perhaps considering the harm reduction approach, not only to tobacco, but when it comes to drugs, HIV, and some other behaviors, right? It's a place that we gather and share information, debate, because obviously not everyone have the same point of view or have the... the same way of accomplishing things, right? So here we debate, we strategize, we exchange information and hopefully we build a better initiative or movement or strategies in order to help the world with something, I don't know.
01:10 - 01:13
[Joanna Junak]
GFN this year, what made you decide to come?
01:13 - 01:39
[Federico Fernandez]
Well, I think it's a great place to find out about new ideas, meet a lot of people from all over the world, find also some old friends and some new friends as well. And also it's a place to, let's say, to recharge energy and get ready for a lot of battles that we have to give in these topics, but, you know, have the proper ammunition.
01:39 - 02:04
[Adriana Curado]
I finally managed to come. Two years ago I was on leave. I think it's a wonderful opportunity to connect with other people and to share information and to build together what we need to do that is moving on with tobacco harm reduction.
02:04 - 02:13
[Joanna Junak]
What are the biggest barriers to communicating about tobacco harm reduction in Greece or around the world?
02:13 - 03:52
[Konstantinos Farsalinos]
It's misinformation and what I call nicotine phobia. People are scared. It's not a problem of the people. It's a problem of the source of information that they get. But it also comes from the healthcare professionals. You know, we did a study back in 2016 in Greece, and more than 80% of healthcare professionals believe that the contribution of nicotine to smoke-related heart disease and cancer is important, very important, or extremely important. Now consider that nicotine is not even classified as a carcinogen by official international bodies and organizations. So the level of misunderstanding and misconceptions among healthcare professionals, which is then propagated to the society and to the consumers, makes it very tough to suggest that there are expected benefits from using a nicotine-containing harm reduction product. And then we have the, I would call it also obsession from the regulators and legislators throughout the world who think that there are only harms associated with nicotine use. They don't understand the benefits on an individual or in a population level. And that's why you see the paradox in many countries of allowing the legal sales of the most lethal nicotine-containing product, which is a tobacco cigarette, and banning the substantially less harmful, almost harmless in some cases, like nicotine pouches, harm reduction products. It makes no sense, and we try to simply reinstitute common sense. That's what we do with harm reduction.
03:52 - 03:57
[Joanna Junak]
Okay, and why is education so important in tobacco harm reduction?
03:57 - 04:49
[Konstantinos Farsalinos]
Because that's the only way to bypass all these misconceptions and misunderstandings. There is no other way than explaining the data in very simple terms for non-experts to understand. And I think that what is important and what we have missed until now is more intense and proper use of social media. Our side, which is the THR supporters, we have not used social media to the best extent that we can. And we can use and let's say sell in quotes our expertise in this field. in order to show the public that we have credibility in what we're saying, so that the public is going to trust us, because trust is the most important thing. But still, we need to generate as much data as possible, because it's only through evidence and data that we can build this trust with the consumers.