Asia Harm Reduction Forum 2021

“While we celebrate what we have achieved thus far, we renew our commitment to this advocacy and we acknowledge that there is still much work to be done,” said Peter Dator, President of Vapers PH, in his closing remarks for the 4^th annual Asia Harm Reduction Forum held last June 28. This year’s virtual gathering of minds attracted almost 400 attendees from India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines (this year’s host country), among many more countries around the world, and was conducted via Zoom.

Attendees were treated to a variety of international speakers and leading experts in public health, policy making, and consumer advocacy presenting their latest and most significant research on Tobacco Harm Reduction or THR. YPKY Indonesian Public Health Observer and very first convenor of the AHRF, Dr. Achmad Syawqie Yazid, opened the event by sharing the history and successful past events of the AHRF as well as the principle on which the organization was founded. Presentations went as follows: Clive Bates (UK), Director of Counterfactual Consulting Ltd., with an extensive discussion on the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control; David Sweanor, JD (Canada), University of Ottawa Centre for Health, Law, Policy, & Ethics Advisory Committee Chair, on Japan’s recent success in reducing tobacco smoking and how neighboring countries may adopt similar policies to achieve the same; Dr. Joe Kosterich (Australia), Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association Chair, with a comparison of Australia and New Zealand’s respective approaches to tobacco control; Dr. Lorenzo Mata Jr. (Philippines), President of Quit For Good, on vaping as an alternative to cigarette smoking in the Philippines; Asa Saligupta (Thailand), ENDs Cigarette Smoke Thailand Director and Founding Member, representing Thai consumers and their role in improving Thailand’s regulation policies on e-cigarettes; and lastly,  Johan Sumatri (Indonesia), Asosiasi Vape Indonesia Chairman, with a situationer on the issues currently faced by the Indonesian vaper community.

Tobacco smoking continues to be a widespread problem and poses a threat to the health of smokers and non-smokers alike throughout the region. As such, the yearly event is organized to share new knowledge in hopes of coming with real and sustainable solutions to a likewise very real problem through an interdisciplinary approach.

AHRF 2021’s speaker presentations are easily available for replay on the official AHRF 2021 website, asiaharmreductionforum2021.com, not only for registered attendees but for the general public, especially those who are interested in the most recent studies and developments regarding THR.

You may also re-watch it at our FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/AHRF2021

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