Barbados stands at the cusp of making history. With smoking rates at just 6.4% of adults, the nation has achieved the lowest smoking prevalence in the Caribbean region. Yet despite this success, thousands of Barbadian lives remain at risk, and the path to becoming truly smoke-free lies within the nation’s grasp.

Recent analysis from international health experts at “Smoke Free Sweden” reveals a stark reality: more than 14 million lives can be saved globally by 2060 if governments act decisively to integrate tobacco harm reduction into traditional control methods. For Barbados, this represents an unprecedented opportunity to become the Caribbean’s first smoke-free nation by embracing less harmful nicotine alternatives like vapes and oral nicotine pouches.

The evidence supporting harm reduction is compelling. In the United Kingdom, smoking rates fell by 41% as vaping became a popular alternative. Japan saw cigarette sales plummet by more than 40% following the introduction of heated tobacco products. Most remarkably, Sweden has become the world’s first officially smoke-free nation, with just 4.5% of Swedish-born adults smoking, achieving smoking-related death rates that are the lowest in the European Union.

Dr Delon Human, leader of Smoke Free Sweden and former secretary general of the World Medical Association, puts it plainly: “Policymakers face a clear choice: lead a public health revolution or fail their citizens.” The strategies to make smoking obsolete by making less harmful alternatives accessible, affordable and acceptable are proven.

For Barbados, the numbers are encouraging. With 11% of men still smoking, targeted harm reduction policies could drive these numbers below the 5% threshold that defines a smoke-free society. The gender gap in the smoking rates, where only 1.7% of women smoke compared to 11.7% of men, suggests that tailored approaches focusing on male smokers could yield dramatic results.

However, Barbados faces a critical challenge at the upcoming 11th Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in Geneva this November. The WHO has consistently promoted prohibitionist approaches that deny smokers access to products that are 95% less harmful than cigarettes. This ideological stance effectively protects the cigarette trade by limiting access to less harmful alternatives.

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