Strategies to achieve ‘tobacco endgame’ released by leading global CV organizations

American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, European Society of Cardiology and World Heart Federation, 4 leading CV organizations, have released a joint opinion to call out for ending the tobacco epidemic. They urge governments to implement the MPOWER framework of the World Health Organization. Electronic cigarettes and other new tobacco products have grown in popularity and limit the progress on ending tobacco use and nicotine addiction. Therefore, there must be regulations on e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products to protect especially young people.

Strategies to implement the MPOWER framework are listed in the joint opinion are include:

• Lowering the nicotine concentrations in all combustible tobacco products.
• Further research to understand the health impacts of nicotine on the CV system and the long-term effects of e-cigarettes.
• Enforcement of strong systems and premarket assessments of all tobacco products.
• Strong regulation of tobacco industry marketing to ensure false health claims are not made about products that have not been thoroughly researched and authorized through regulatory review.
• Greater global action to remove all non-tobacco flavored products from the market.
• Raising the price of all tobacco products, through excise taxes and other means.
• Youth-targeted counter-marketing campaigns to effectively reduce tobacco use among youth.
• Access to comprehensive, evidence-based cessation services as a safer alternative for adults who wish to quit smoking combustible cigarettes

Prof. Stephan Achenbach, President of the ESC said: “Today the ESC joins other leading professional organisations in cardiovascular healthcare to send a strong, global message calling for public health campaigns and legislation to fight tobacco and, in particular, to deter vaping. There is increasing evidence on the adverse effects of e-cigarettes. New measures are needed to stop marketing campaigns for e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco, especially those targeting young people.”

Source: press release ESC, May 26, 2021