The “Effective Anti-Smoking Policies Global Index” has been published by We are Innovation which ranks countries according to their policies regarding reducing smoking and tobacco alternatives.
There are lots of different rankings according to the following criteria…
- Regulatory Framework
- Banning
- Flavours
- Packaging
- Display
- Advertising
- Retail Availability
- Online Sales
- Taxation
- Promoting tobacco harm reduction
Also there is a ranking for overall scores.
The UK came second following Switzerland who grabbed the top ranking. Australia sadly was ranked the worst.
You can download the full 240 page document here.
UK Ratings
Breaking it down into the different categories the UK was ranked as follows…
UK was ranked top for Vape product values and heated tobacco product values.
The UK scored lower in the Nicotine Pouch values.
We got the lowest score in the Snus category as it is banned.
A summary is provided for each country and according to the report…
“The United Kingdom (taking England as a reference) maintains a very good global score and the best at regional level, standing out for having very good policies on vaping, with authorities that recommend its use, but it does not achieve the first place due to its policies on other products.”
The issues mentioned above are the fact that Snus is banned and that vaping is restricted to TPD regulations.
I am very pleased to see the UK as the second leading country when it comes to vaping and Heat Not Burn (heated tobacco) products, but this report does highlight some weaknesses when it comes to Tobacco Harm Reduction.
