CATANIA (ITALPRESS) – The CoEHAR Annual Conference was held Wednesday, Oct. 30, in Catania, Italy, coordinated by the founder of the University of Catania Research Center, Professor Riccardo Polosa, and its director, Professor Giovanni Li Volti.At the center of the scientific debate were two important topics: prevention of oral health and that of the cardiovascular system. Among the 25 distinguished speakers were also several experts in harm reduction and pathological addiction from the most prestigious American universities. “Fighting the incidence of smoking-related diseases is our goal, but when we have at our disposal globally reduced-risk products, even between 80 and 90 percent less toxic than conventional cigarettes, actually the answer is already in our hands as many virtuous countries have demonstrated,” explained Professor Riccardo Polosa.Sweden, in fact, thanks to harm reduction tools has reduced the percentage of smokers to 5.6 percent, with a 41 percent lower cancer incidence than other EU countries and a 38 percent lower total cancer deaths. The United Kingdom managed to reduce its smoking rate by five points in just five years to 12 percent today. In New Zealand, the number of smokers has dropped from 15.1 percent in 2018 to 8 percent in 2022. “These are peoples that will manage to become smoke free within a very few years,” Polosa added.Italy, too, has made important strides in recent months. As stated by national deputy and member of the Chamber’s social affairs committee, Francesco Ciancitto: “Smoking harm reduction is the issue at the heart of a parliamentary resolution already approved by the committee aimed at launching effective strategies for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. The ultimate goal is to introduce innovative policies that can address the need to prevent serious diseases of the cardiovascular system while reducing costs to the national health care system. “The CoEHAR conference as every year has proven to be a time for scientific debate on the outcomes of applied research on alternative nicotine delivery devices, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. But with a special focus this year dedicated to oral health prevention. All types of smoking are indeed dangerous and it is desirable that the population, especially young people, do not smoke. But it is obvious that switching from traditional smoking to smokeless products appears to be able to reduce the impact of this risk the impact of this risk, including at the level of the oral cavity as demonstrated by several ongoing projects at CoEHAR that tangibly demonstrate how switching from smoking to smokeless products helps to restore the natural whiteness of teeth and to restore a state of total oral health wellness.”The advent of new smoking products for more than 10 years has monopolized the attention of tobacco experts,” added Professor Fabio Beatrice, of the MOHRE Observatory, “The hope is that scientific interest will not divert attention from the central problem that is still cigarette smoking. Because quitting is difficult but giving up risk reduction strategies seems clinically incomprehensible. I hope that the debate will move away from a merely ideological confrontation and remain focused on the comparison of scientific data. “The event, part of the Annual Meeting on Addiction held Oct. 28-31 in Catania, Italy, also featured Professor Sarah Pratt, of Darthmouth College, Professor Thomas Brandon, of Moffitt Cancer Center, and Professor Lorien Abroms, of George Washington University, all scientists committed to combating smoking as a pathological addiction to be ombated with harm reduction strategies. As Professor Giovanni Li Volti concluded, “We are facing a revolution that will take us far that will profoundly affect the lives of individuals and public policy around the world.”
– CoEHAR Annual Conference Photos –
(ITALPRESS).
