In an era where public health is increasingly at the forefront of global policy discussions, the 2024 Effective Anti-Smoking Policies Global Index emerges as a crucial tool in the fight against smoking. This comprehensive study, presented by the global network We Are Innovation, rigorously analyzes the public policies to eradicate smoking in 69 countries across four regions. Evaluating a range of eleven categories, the Index delves into the intricacies of Non-Combusted Nicotine Products (NCNPs), scrutinizing aspects such as regulatory frameworks, prohibitions, taxation, and governmental measures for switching from traditional smoking. Additionally, it incorporates an assessment of scientific claims endorsed by the authorities, making it the most complete measurement of its kind on a global scale and a definitive guide for more effective regulation of NCNPs.
The United Kingdom, Sweden, and Slovakia lead the ranking with their exemplary anti-smoking policies. At the same time, countries like Australia, India, and Turkmenistan find themselves at the lower end of the spectrum due to their underperforming measures. The Index underscores the pivotal role of innovation and sensible public policies in combating smoking, particularly highlighting the importance of smart regulation around NCNPs.
NCNPs, such as vaping, are instrumental in harm reduction strategies associated with traditional cigarette consumption. They have been shown to be effective in aiding 11 percent to 18 percent of users in quitting traditional cigarettes and are 95 percent less harmful, as they deliver controlled doses of nicotine without burning the toxic chemicals found in tobacco.
Including electronic cigarettes, vaporizers, or vape pens, these are electronic systems that mimic tobacco smoking without producing smoke.Including electronic cigarettes, vaporizers, or vape pens, these are electronic systems that mimic tobacco smoking without producing smoke.
Devices that heat a tobacco-containing substance, poured into containers resembling cigarettes, without burning it.
Including nicotine pouches (NPs) and snus, these provide moderate nicotine without heating.
The 2024 Effective Anti-Smoking Policies Global Index serves as a beacon for governments and authorities worldwide. It guides them in analyzing the benefits of regulating NCNPs and implementing intelligent public health policies, marking a significant step forward in the global battle against smoking addiction.
In the latest release of the 2024 Effective Anti-Smoking Policies Global Index, several noteworthy updates and changes have been introduced, distinguishing it from its 2022 predecessor.
One of the most significant expansions in this year's index is including 11 new countries, broadening the scope and depth of the analysis. These additions include a diverse range of nations, each with its unique stance on tobacco control and regulation of nicotine products. The newcomers are China, Finland, India, Norway, Qatar, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Vietnam. Including these countries enriches the data pool and offers a more comprehensive understanding of the global landscape in anti-smoking policies. Their varying approaches and cultural contexts provide invaluable insights into the global effectiveness of different regulatory strategies. Concurrently, the 2024 index marks a notable change with the exclusion of Russia.
A pivotal addition to the 2024 index is introducing the “Claims” category. This new category assesses whether national authorities support relative risk claims for NCNPs. An illustrative example is the position of the British National Health Service (NHS), which states that vapes or e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful than traditional cigarettes and can aid in quitting smoking. This category provides a nuanced view of how public governments leverage health messages and scientific evidence to shape public perception and policy regarding NCNPs. It is a critical metric for understanding the evolving landscape of nicotine innovation and the role of authoritative claims in influencing policy and public behavior.
These updates in the 2024 edition of the index highlight the evolving nature of global tobacco control policies and the necessity for continuous monitoring and analysis to understand the effectiveness and impact of these policies on public health.
At the forefront, the United Kingdom, particularly England, exemplifies a progressive approach, especially noticeable in its vaping policies. Showing a careful balance between addressing public health concerns and providing safer alternatives for smokers. Similarly, Sweden's high rank, primarily driven by its unique stance on nicotine pouches and snus, showcases a successful harm reduction strategy. Sweden's historical experience in managing snus, and more contemporarily nicotine pouches, can provide valuable insights for handling other tobacco alternatives.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia also rank high, with favorable scores in vaping and THPs. Their rankings suggest a regulatory environment that is more receptive to these alternatives, possibly viewing them as effective tools in reducing traditional smoking harms. Greece and Ireland follow a similar pattern, demonstrating a high acceptance of vaping, indicative of a focus on harm reduction. Germany, too, mirrors this trend, with its high ranking in vaping and THP reflecting a balanced regulatory approach.
In contrast, countries like Australia represent a more stringent policy framework, with zero scores across all categories. This approach highlights a focus on minimizing all forms of tobacco use but opens up discussions on the role of harm reduction strategies. Argentina's approach is too restrictive, showing some acceptance of NPs and Snus compared to vaping and THPs.
Japan's unique position on THPs, coupled with lower rankings in other categories, might reflect a targeted strategy focusing on specific tobacco alternatives, possibly influenced by cultural and social factors. Countries like Uruguay and China exhibit a narrow approach towards innovative smoking alternatives, likely shaped by broader public health policies and cultural attitudes. India and Brazil, with low scores across the board, demonstrate a restrictive regulatory environment, perhaps prioritizing smoking cessation over harm reduction.
The contrasting strategies of these countries in the rankings illustrate the diverse global landscape of tobacco control. The top-ranked countries often integrate safer nicotine products with traditional tobacco control measures, while the bottom-ranked ones tend to be more restrictive. The varied experiences of these countries offer valuable lessons on the effectiveness of different approaches to tobacco control and can inform future policy-making on a global scale.
In this introductory section of the index, it is crucial to underscore the demographic scale represented by the countries analyzed. This perspective not only adds depth to our understanding of the global impact of tobacco policies but also highlights the vast populations affected by these strategies.
Thus, the top 20 countries in the index, leading the way with progressive and effective anti-smoking policies, collectively represent a population of approximately 962 million people. This group includes the United Kingdom (specifically England), Sweden, Slovakia, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Lebanon, Greece, the United States, Spain, New Zealand, Romania, Italy, France, Canada, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Croatia, and Austria. These nations, diverse in their cultural and social contexts, demonstrate that effective anti-smoking policies can be implemented across various societal frameworks, benefitting a significant portion of the global population.
In stark contrast, the other 49 countries covered in the index account for a combined population of around 4.6 billion people. This staggering figure shows the reality that a vast majority of the global population still resides in nations where there is substantial room for improvement in anti-smoking policies. These countries represent diverse economic and regulatory landscapes, each facing unique challenges in implementing effective anti-smoking measures. The potential for positive public health impact in these regions is immense, highlighting the critical need for focused efforts in enhancing their anti-smoking strategies.
Considering the total world population is roughly 8 billion, the 2024 Effective Anti-Smoking Policies Global Index's assessment of countries encompassing 5.5 billion people is notably significant. This coverage amounts to approximately 69 percent of the global population, offering a comprehensive and representative analysis of the world's anti-smoking policies. The data and insights derived from such a substantial portion of the global population provide a robust foundation for understanding the effectiveness of various policies. It also emphasizes the importance of continued research and policy development to address the needs of the remaining 31 percent of the global population not covered in this index.
The United Kingdom stands out as having the most innovative and balanced national policy approach overall. By ranking 1st in vaping and 2nd in THPs, the UK makes two promising harm reduction products widely accessible to incentivize complete switching from cigarettes. The country still maintains reasonable availability of nicotine pouches as secondary options. This comprehensive strategy could serve as a model for many other nations needing more precise guidance on tobacco alternatives. However, snus is still banned in the UK.
Sweden also warrants attention for its early adoption and cultural normalization of snus over traditional smoking. Ranking second in snus promotion shows how decades paved the way for cigarette alternatives. As the home country that innovated nicotine pouches as a novel smokeless format, Sweden unsurprisingly ranks first globally for the availability of that emerging category. With products like vaping and THPs available as well, Sweden's approach has paid dividends in achieving one of the lowest smoking rates in Europe. Its familiarity with smokeless tobacco makes Sweden ripe to pioneer new formats like nicotine pouches to transition more smokers in the future.
Several mid-ranked countries stand out in their regional contexts as first movers. For example, Lebanon (ranked 7th overall) leads the Middle East in its support for vaping and snus to transition smokers. Slovakia (ranked 3rd overall) does the same for vaping and THPs among post-communist nations with high historical cigarette usage. And even though New Zealand does not allow snus or nicotine pouches, its full endorsement of vaping makes it the only Asia-Pacific country in the top 25 for harm reduction. These innovation pioneers point the way forward in their respective regions.
Furthermore, the wide variation in country rankings suggests that most anti-smoking policies still have room for improvement. No country scores in the top 10 across all product types, revealing gaps in supporting diversified innovation. There are opportunities to gain public health benefits by legalizing and regulating additional alternatives to complement existing efforts. Countries should critically evaluate their mix of access restrictions, taxes, and messaging through the lens of smoking cessation and adoption of scientifically validated safer nicotine products.
With over 30 million adult smokers searching for alternatives, the United States adopts a conflicted posture across safer nicotine products. It ranks in the top 10 globally, showing some progressive tendencies. However, America lands just 18th for vaping accessibility and 19th for heated tobacco openness, constrained by FDA reticence towards “unproven” products amid heated legal battles. While states increasingly recognize tobacco alternatives for risk minimization potential, America settles short of policy innovation leaders like the UK and Sweden. Lingering skepticism also needs to grasp lifesaving opportunities as technology shapes next-generation nicotine habits and consumption.
As the globe's largest smoking population, China faces similar public health imperatives to enable cigarette quit attempts through alternative nicotine channels. However, regulatory policy ranks near the bottom at 51st globally, with bans on THPs and nicotine pouches while heavily restricting vaping and snus. State monopolies and taxation revenues likely sway China's stance despite the potential to save millions of lives. However, progressive regional cities like Beijing exhibit local leadership in piloting vaping adoption. If such momentum sparks a national re-evaluation of evidence towards harm reduction principles, China's vast smoker base will offer unparalleled lifesaving opportunities through technological tobacco shifts.
India mirrors China as a smoking-saturated emerging economy rhetorically committed to public health yet scored last globally for completely prohibiting all tobacco alternatives. In addition to forgoing harm reduction benefits, the blanket ban fuels explosive illicit trade, fulfilling smoker demand.
Among non-combustible nicotine alternatives, regulatory policies
differ radically in receptiveness, with vaping facing the harshest
worldwide sales bans despite evidence supporting its harm
reduction potential. A full seventeen countries prohibit vaping
sales entirely, a restrictive policy stance not mirrored across
smokeless products like snus or nicotine pouches, which largely
evade bans even as unfamiliar entrants. Only heated tobacco
policies show regional bifurcation patterns similar to vaping.
These policy variances suggest outdated risk perceptions, early adoption advantages for some smokeless formats in specific cultures, and the lingering influence of combustible incumbents in shaping government regulation of nanscent competitors. National openness peaks in Europe for all alternatives, aided by the early embrace of vaping in the progressive UK, which globally leads harm reduction models centered on public health outcomes.
Drilling down by product reveals heated tobacco's split identity - championed as a reduced-risk tool in Europe and the Middle East but rejected broadly across South America alongside near-comprehensive vaping blocks. Novel nicotine pouches sometimes land in an unregulated grey area as first-mover Sweden supports cultural familiarity with the spit-free smokeless format, echoing long-standing snus comfort across Scandinavia.
Other former smokers' strongholds like Asia and Latin America instead reveal policy weaknesses through scores of vaping and snus prohibitions rather than evidence-based transitions towards harm reduction principles. This insular opposition retards public health gains.
As alternatives accessibility expands in safer nicotine leaders, convergence not just of interests but mindsets grows imperative to align tobacco's evolution with lifesaving ethics. The promise lies in heating's flexibility to bridge policy divides between smokeless selections and inhaled options if grounded in science, not tradition or controlled commercialization but public welfare. With common health aims, scattered national approaches require unified perspectives balancing compassion with social change management.
We Are Innovation is a dynamic network of individuals and institutions who deeply believe in innovation’s power to drive progress and solve the world’s most pressing problems. With over 35 think tanks, foundations and NGOs based worldwide, We Are Innovation represents the diverse voices of a global civil society committed to advancing human creativity, adopting new technologies, and promoting innovative solutions. Through our collaborative approach and cutting-edge expertise, we are driving global transformative change.
At We Are Innovation, we are dedicated to
achieving the implementation of innovative
solutions worldwide. We work to empower
citizens and governments alike to experiment
with new alternatives for solving problems. By
doing so, we are building a brighter future for all.
Our Core
Endeavor
We visualize a future where innovation and experimentation with pioneering solutions thrive in every corner of the globe. Collaborating closely with our international partners, we strive to foster a global culture of innovation. This cooperative approach enables us to tackle complex challenges, contributing not only to the progress of individual nations but also to a brighter, more innovative global future.
We uphold the principle that innovation serves as the cornerstone of progress. When innovators introduce novel technologies or business models, these should be welcomed as the default response. The existence of innovations should be respected unless compelling evidence suggests otherwise. The marketplace should be the arena for citizens to endorse or dismiss these innovations. The real threat lies in stifling this process through overregulation or prohibitions.
The future is calling, and we are ready to answer. Join us in our mission to create a more innovative and forward-thinking society. Together, we can build a brighter future for all.
www.weareinnovation.global
2024 | We Are Innovation | The Future Is Calling
