Dhaka, April 21 -- Safer alternatives to smoking could substantially reduce the harm caused by tobacco use, subject matter experts have mentioned. They argued that products such as vaping devices, nicotine pouches, and snus have helped millions of smokers around the world to quit.

Countries that adopted harm reduction strategies have seen rapid declines in smoking, while those that banned these products including India, Brazil Australia have witnessed the rise of black markets and unregulated goods - often accompanied by little or no improvement in public health outcomes.

Bangladesh still lacks a coherent harm reduction framework. Therefore, despite strict regulations over the safer alternative to tobacco, smoking remains widespread and...