World Heart Day 2024: Reducing Smoking’s Impact Through Harm Reduction

World Heart Day, observed annually on September 29th, emphasises the importance of preventive measures and lifestyle changes to combat cardiovascular diseases, which can lead to serious health issues such as strokes and heart attacks.

Cigarette smoking is a known key risk factor for heart disease, with about 1.9 million avoidable deaths from coronary heart disease per year attributable to smoking. This risk equates to one in five of all deaths from heart disease, with low and middle-income countries contributing a greater share to the global burden of cardiovascular disease.

How does quitting smoking benefit your heart?

Quitting smoking can lead to a drastic reduction in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, such as a stroke or heart attack. In just 20 minutes after quitting, your heart rate improves, and in 5-15 years, your stroke risk is reduced to that of a person who doesn’t smoke. In 15 years, your risk of heart disease is that of a person who doesn’t smoke.

There is a need to align cessation programs with the realities of local contexts to guarantee acceptance and increase the potential for sustainability. Emphasising accessibility, acceptability, and affordability of safer nicotine alternatives reduces smoking rates with significant decreases in smoking-related diseases, such as heart disease, setting an effective and flexible precedent for global public health policy.

Governments can reap health benefits for their citizens by implementing evidence-based, human-centric tobacco harm reduction policies.