With over 8 million smoking-related deaths per year, the tobacco epidemic is a systemic, global problem that requires systemic, global solutions. In search of such high-level action, Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) experts across three countries and continents have come together to petition the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to take action now by supporting THR.

As one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, the UNGA is a unique platform where all 193 UN member states can discuss, collaborate and move forward on major international issues and a wide range of global challenges. This certainly includes the increasingly urgent public health issue of smoking-related diseases and deaths.

A distinctive forum where each member state has an equal vote, the UNGA is primed to be a space where other countries can learn from and follow the THR successes of Sweden and New Zealand - as discussed in the letter.

In this open letter, bringing together their individual expertise and focus areas, Dr. Delon Human, Dr. Derek Yach and Professor Marewa Glover share that “the world stands on the brink of a public health revolution” through THR. It is now up to national governments and world leaders to embrace the solution that has already proven effective in real-world applications. It is time for the tobacco harm reduction revolution.

Read the Open Letter here.