NNTHR Statement

In 2018 the nordic countries’ grassroots consumer movements for THR (**Tobacco Harm Reduction** – basically lifesaving seatbelts for nicotine users) came together to establish a “Neighborhood watch” organisation intended to mirror the Nordic Network on Tobacco Control, a nordic umbrella network organisation collecting mainly wholly or partly government funded NGOs working in anti-all-non-pharma-nicotine public information and lobbying. NNTC also formally established and announced the network earlier that year at the World Conference on Tobacco OR health held in Cape Town, South Africa. The anti nicotine organisations in the Nordics have had a very well functioning network for decades already, it has never been formalised into a separate recognised entity before 2018 so we chose to establish also, to have a supranational presence mirroring theirs and to be relevant as a stakeholder entity in tobacco work under “The Nordic Council”. We currently count participating orgs in the network from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Estonia.
 
The objective is to provide a better, more supportive and also holistic picture in response to different legislative and regulatory attempts, e g to use one country’s specifics to argue for more heavy handed regulation or taxation in another country in what amounts to a race toward prohibition. Strongarming and trying to force decisions by politiicians and civil servants (and other NGOs not radical enough) that has only a “given” outcome that is an obligation for Sweden to fulfill asap as we are full signatories and party to the FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control) as all the countries are parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the FCTC. This is disingenuous and harmful to the health of the public in the Nordics.
 
Global Anti-smoking has had decades to morph into the current anti-all-non-pharma-nicotine iteration, long enough even to forget how a moral compass works. The way they are going is the right way to go because that’s the way they are going, that’s not the way to go.