Beyond a smoke-free generation: ending smoking within a generation

Ruth Bonita, Robert Beaglehole

A new Comment in The Lancet by Ruth Bonita and Rob Beaglehole argues that if we are serious about ending smoking within a generation, tobacco control needs to focus not only on preventing young people from smoking, but also on helping adults who smoke today to quit or switch away from combustible tobacco.

The authors distinguish between a “smoke-free generation” and a “smoke-free world within a generation”. They argue that achieving the latter requires all three pillars of tobacco control – demand reduction, supply reduction and harm reduction.

The Comment highlights New Zealand’s progress in reducing smoking and the potential for smoke-free nicotine products to accelerate the decline in smoking.

The authors’ central message is clear: preventing young people from taking up smoking is essential, but reducing smoking among adults who smoke today is critical to ending the smoking epidemic within a generation.

Read the full comment here. Free to read with registration.