Positive Effects of Harm Reduction in Kazakhstan – Africa Harm Reduction Alliance

As part of a recently published report focusing on the potential positive effects of harm reduction policies on tobacco-related deaths in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs), Kazakhstan is among the four nations examined in this case study.

Examining the potential impact of policies centred on tobacco harm reduction (THR), this report specifically addresses the number of lives that could be saved. It reveals that in Kazakhstan alone, 165,000 premature deaths could be prevented in the next four decades. Yet, achieving this outcome hinges on the government, with support from other key stakeholders, intensifying the implementation of tobacco harm reduction (THR) policies, expanding the availability of THR products, and improving access to diagnostics and treatment for tobacco-related diseases. These components are supplementary, but equally crucial, to the conventional tobacco control measures already in place.

When observing that the three leading causes of death in Kazakhstan—heart disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)—are all tobacco-related causes, the need for an improved strategy on tobacco control becomes more evident.

Highlighting an overall smoking population of 20.9%, Kazakhstan serves as a significant case study, revealing a substantial gap in smoking prevalence between men (37.7%) and women (5.8%). The report underlines how this gender disparity contributes to the difference in life expectancy, with men averaging 67.5 years and women 76.4 years in Kazakhstan. Given these connections and the previously mentioned shared causes of death, the insights from the report become increasingly vital and urgent for swift implementation.