6000 CHEMICALS
When a cigarette burns, it produces smoke. More than 6000 chemicals have been identified in cigarette smoke, approximately 100 of which have been classified by public health authorities as harmful or potentially harmful. That’s why we need to eliminate burning.
DID YOU KNOW?
More than two thirds of smokers said they would be more likely to switch to alternatives such as e-cigarettes & heated tobacco products if they had clarity on how they differed from cigarettes.
MAKE A CHANGE
Action is needed from all of us in order to make smoke-free products available to the hundreds of millions of men and women around the world who smoke.
There are better alternatives to continued smoking available, like e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and modern oral products. Because they don’t burn tobacco, these products should have fewer and lower levels of harmful chemicals in their aerosols compared with cigarette smoke.
They aren't risk free, and contain nicotine which is addictive. But if they are scientifically substantiated and manufactured under appropriate safety and quality controls, they are a better choice than continued smoking.
Our governments are there to create regulations and put people first. Yet, some countries have banned smoke-free products altogether. In others, information about them is not readily available. Does it make sense that only cigarettes – the most harmful tobacco products - are available for smokers? Does it make sense that adult smokers are not given the information to differentiate between cigarettes and better, smoke-free alternatives?
We know it’s best to quit nicotine and tobacco completely. We also know many adult smokers don’t. They deserve access to and information about alternatives: too many don’t have all the facts or understand their options.
The conversation you need to hear.
THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE
Regulation is a necessary and vital part of society. But with every new discovery, technology and innovation, it’s crucial that it evolves – often it is people who drive the change, like these key moments when people fought to reshape the laws that define our everyday lives.
The magna carta
The Magna Carta was written to make peace between King John of England and some rebel barons. The first ‘law of the land’ – giving ‘people’ power over the king – ended illegal imprisonment (keeping the barons out of jail) and gave everyone access to a fair trial. It was the catalyst for modern legal structures (and regulations).
CLEAN AIR ACT
During the early 20th Century, the pollution from London’s heavy industry led to numerous dense fogs, nicknamed ‘pea soups’. When, in December 1952, the ‘Great Smog’ killed 12,000 people, the public and backbench MPs pressured the government – who continued to downplay the issue to protect the economy – into creating an Act with far-reaching powers to reduce air pollution.3
NATIONAL TRAFFIC & MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY ACT
In 1965, Lawyer Ralph Nader criticized the car industry’s safety measures in his book ‘Unsafe at Any Speed’. Traffic fatalities, which reached 50,894 in 1966, were the main cause of death for under 44s – and he demanded government force through safety legislation. President Lyndon Johnson’s Act began a regulatory journey that, by 2014, saw fatalities drop to 32,695 a year.1
LAND RIGHTS FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS
For two centuries, the British and then white Australians operated under a fallacy, that somehow Aboriginal people did not exist or have land rights before the first settlers arrived in 1788 . Eddie Mabo became an activist for black rights, mobilising his community to make sure Aboriginal children had their own schools. After a 10 year battle, the people were heard and the Aboriginal people were granted the land rights they so rightly deserved.
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN ECUADOR
Tired of being denied marriage equality, it took an army of people and many years to achieve justice for Ecuador. In 2013 LGTB rights groups launched the campaign Matrimonio Civil Igualitario. Activist Pamela Troya and her partner launched a marriage petition in the same year, and an additional couple, supported with a convoy of supporters, marched through the city to the Civil Registry. Years of hard-fought campaigning later, same sex marriage was officially legalized in 2019.
Regulation is an important part of proper, functioning societies around the world. It is defined as ‘a rule or directive made and maintained by an authority’ and is important as a means of protecting the rights and safety of citizens, as individuals but also as a society. Learn more about what factors trigger a change in regulation, why regulation is important and how you can help support change and regulation in this article
