As the global community observes World Vape Day 2025, Nigerian public health expert and policy researcher, Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi, is calling for urgent adoption of tobacco harm reduction (THR) strategies in Nigeria’s tobacco control framework.

He says the country can no longer afford to ignore overwhelming global evidence showing that alternatives like vaping can help smokers quit and reduce smoking-related deaths.

“World Vape Day is a moment to celebrate innovation, personal transformation, and science-led policy. It’s not about promoting nicotine—it’s about reducing the devastating harm caused by burning tobacco,” said Adebisi.

Adebisi explains that tobacco harm reduction is a pragmatic and compassionate strategy that provides adult smokers with safer alternatives to combustible cigarettes.

He points out that vaping, for example, delivers nicotine without the tar and thousands of toxic chemicals generated through combustion.

“This is not theoretical—multiple studies, including from Public Health England, show that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking,” he noted.

Countries like Sweden and the United Kingdom, he said, offer powerful examples. Sweden is poised to become the first smoke-free nation in the world, with smoking rates dropping below 5 percent.

This success, Adebisi explained, is largely due to the availability and use of safer nicotine products such as snus and e-cigarettes. In the UK, adult smoking rates have dropped to a record low of 11.9 percent as of 2023, driven by supportive vaping policies and public health campaigns.

“These countries didn’t achieve these results by accident. They invested in public education, regulated safer products, and made harm reduction a public health priority. Nigeria can and should do the same,” said Adebisi.

He emphasised that while traditional tobacco control measures like taxation, advertising bans, and cessation programs remain important, they are no longer sufficient on their own.

According to Adebisi, most smokers are not actively planning to quit, and abstinence-only strategies often fail to meet people where they are.

“We need to offer real options—alternatives that are less harmful but still meet smokers’ needs. That’s what harm reduction does,” he said.

Referencing data from the World Vape Day 2025 Manifesto, Adebisi pointed out that 93 percent of vapers are former smokers.

This, he argued, proves that vaping serves as a highly effective quitting tool rather than a gateway to smoking.

He also highlighted the U.S. and New Zealand as examples where harm reduction policies have driven rapid declines in smoking rates, even among vulnerable populations.

Addressing common concerns about youth uptake, Adebisi urged policymakers to focus on facts rather than fear.

“The evidence clearly shows that vaping is overwhelmingly used by adult smokers or ex-smokers—not young people or non-smokers. “Strong regulation, not prohibition, is how we protect youth while still supporting adult smokers who want to quit,” he said.

He warned that banning or heavily restricting vaping products, as seen in countries like Australia, only pushes people back to cigarettes or into unregulated black markets.

“This does more harm than good. It limits access to safer products and undermines public health goals,” he said.

Adebisi called on Nigerian authorities to move beyond regulatory ambiguity and develop clear, evidence-based national guidelines for vaping and other non-combustible nicotine products.

These guidelines, he said, should include product safety standards, age restrictions, and quality control protocols that protect consumers while ensuring access for those trying to quit smoking.

He also stressed the need for well-funded public education campaigns to inform people about safer alternatives.

“We need to reach smokers in urban and rural communities alike, helping them understand that they have options. Campaigns like the UK’s ‘Stoptober’ can be adapted for our local context,” he suggested.

Adebisi further encouraged Nigerian policymakers to engage with experts and policymakers from countries like Sweden, New Zealand, and the UK, whose experiences can help shape an African harm reduction model.

He added that regional collaboration through the African Union could help harmonize strategies and strengthen the continent’s public health response to tobacco-related diseases.

“Ultimately, harm reduction is about people, not just policy. Imagine a 35-year-old father in Lagos who’s been smoking for 15 years. Vaping could offer him a life-saving path to quit. He doesn’t need judgment—he needs help and options,” Adebisi said