FAR TOO many Africans die as a result of smoking. Yet far too few Africans who try to stop smoking actually succeed in doing so. It’s clear that the ‘quit or die’ approach to tobacco control is not working on our continent, where cigarette consumption is on the rise in stark defiance of global trends.

Evidence shows that alternative nicotine products, such as tobacco-free pouches and e-cigarettes or vaping devices, can deliver nicotine with dramatically reduced risk compared to traditional ‘combustible’ cigarettes.