Cessation Education
2023 Cessation Education Spotlight
Consumers and health care providers must have access to comprehensive information about the relative risks of all the tools that can be used to quit smoking.
Since our formation, we have always supported work that furthers understanding of the relative risks of nicotine and tobacco products. Now, we are pleased to formalize this research pillar to focus on funding projects that bring cessation information to a wide range of communities and health care professionals. We also are committed to leading by example by directly providing consumer-ready information on our website that is updated regularly as new data become available.
Examples of cessation education project areas of interest include:
Alternative Research Initiative
The Alternative Research Initiative (ARI) mission is to reduce the barriers for people who smoke in Pakistan by providing research-based solutions and raising awareness about tools for quitting, including reduced-risk products.
In 2023, ARI launched the knowledge hub Smoke-Free Pakistan, offering a comprehensive resource for researchers and stakeholders in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. This platform shares up-to-date data, research, and articles on cessation and reducing smoking-related risks.
ARI also collaborated with journalists and local partners from the Pakistan Alliance for Nicotine and Tobacco Harm Reduction to disseminate research and engage the public through talk shows on Radio Pakistan.
ASCRA Consulting Inc.
ASCRA Consulting Inc. informs the public and other key stakeholders about the latest cessation and tobacco harm reduction research through various media channels. In 2023, the organization became one of the credible sources for information in the Philippines and Asia Pacific region, empowering people who use tobacco, health professionals and journalists by improving their awareness and knowledge of tobacco harm reduction strategies.
ASCRA accomplished the following in the Philippines and Asia Pacific region:
- Built the capacity of media and health care professionals through workshops on smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction;
- Facilitated effective communication that leveraged local evidence to address misinformation on nicotine and tobacco harm reduction; and
- Enhanced strategic partnerships with health professionals and journalists.
Knowledge·Action·Change
Knowledge·Action·Change (KAC) promotes risk minimization as a key public health strategy grounded in human rights. KAC’s Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR) platform, tracks and reports on tobacco harm reduction and the use, availability, and regulatory responses to safer nicotine products in 200 countries and regions around the world. In 2023, GSTHR published five briefing papers that presented research about key tobacco control, cessation, and reduced-risk product issues. The papers were made available in KAC’s core languages – English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Chinese (Mandarin) – to ensure broad audiences could access the educational information.
KAC also manages a Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship Program, which is funded by a Global Action grant and aims to increase research and capacity for tobacco harm reduction. The 2023 program received 457 applications from scholars in 70 countries. Twenty-five were awarded a scholarship, including 10 female and 15 male scholars, extending the program’s global reach to 45 countries, with newcomers from Botswana, Jamaica, Italy, and Uzbekistan.
We are accelerating comprehensive, science-based global efforts to end the smoking epidemic, with a focus on marginalized communities and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
© 2023 Annual Report Global Action to End Smoking. All Rights Reserved. (formerly “Foundation for a Smoke-Free World”)