Vapeboss – Practitioner and researcher from the Public Health Observer Foundation (YPKP) Amaliya explained that the heating system applied to alternative tobacco products is the reason these products are 90 to 95 percent lower risk compared to cigarettes.

Through the heating system, these products produce water vapor or aerosol, unlike cigarettes which produce smoke.

"By eliminating the combustion process, the levels of CO (carbon monoxide), CO2 (carbon dioxide), and NOx (nitrogen oxide) gases in alternative tobacco products have significantly decreased compared to conventional cigarette smoke," she stated on Tuesday (28/3/2023).

This is reinforced by scientific studies conducted by YPKP together with Skylab-Med in Greece in 2019. The results of these scientific studies concluded that heated tobacco products have significantly lower aldehyde (harmful compounds) than cigarettes.

Amaliya believes that further studies focusing on investigating long-term outcomes, safety, and effectiveness of alternative tobacco products are important.

"The results of this study are important to validate the differences in risk profiles and appropriate uses of alternative tobacco products, especially for adult smokers," she emphasized.

On a different occasion, the Executive Director of the Centre for Youth and Population Research, Dedek Prayudi, said that abroad, scientific studies on alternative tobacco products have been carried out extensively, allowing these products to be utilized optimally, especially for adult smokers.

Therefore, in Indonesia, it is necessary to increase comprehensive scientific studies on alternative tobacco products. Later, the results of these scientific studies will be disseminated to the entire community, especially adult smokers, to prevent the spread of misinformation.

"The lack of accurate information about alternative tobacco products should be responded to by conducting more scientific studies involving all parties, from the government, academics, to associations. Furthermore, these studies can be adopted as public policies to address the problem of smoking or the dangers of cigarettes in Indonesia," said Dedek.

According to him, access to accurate information, including research findings, must be widely open, especially amidst the rampant hoaxes.

Source: Tribunnews