By Joanne Peters - Content Works
Pascal Michel recently joined Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. (RBH) as its new Senior Science Engagement Manager, having served most of his career in the federal public service. He says he has always been guided by a focus on helping Canadians in their day to day lives.
Michel, who holds a PhD in epidemiology, is now applying his extensive background in the prevention and control of public health risks from a national and global health perspective in the private sector.
“The ability to be more directly involved in helping people is what spurred me to make this career leap,” says Michel, who spent 24 years at the Public Health Agency of Canada, helping establish this important institution. In 2015, he took on the role of Chief Science Officer of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
“The common thread throughout my career has been my total conviction and fascination that science and technology can help people.”
Chief among his goals is to help people who won’t quit explore potentially less harmful smoke-free alternatives. There are about 1.3 billion smokers in the world, including 3.8 million Canadians.
Public health is founded on multisectoral action, actively linking private, public and non-profit organisations into collaborative and effective solutions. Finding tangible ways to minimize the impact caused by smoking fits well within that vision.
“I see my work here at RBH as a natural extension of what I’ve been focused on for the last 30 years,” says Michel who has also held various cross-appointments with academia and developed collaborations across Canada and internationally, providing epidemiological expertise to multiple major research initiatives.
“The best thing for an adult cigarette smoker is to stop smoking altogether,” Michel says. “For adults who continue smoking, there are two broad things we must do to help them move away from cigarettes. The first is to be sure that Canadians are aware of and have access to legal smoke-free alternatives, so access to and awareness of innovation are absolutely critical.”
“The second is to have coherent science-informed policies that consider the evolving risks that are specific to these products. This includes giving people who are struggling to move away from cigarettes the options to make better choices.”
Smoke-free alternatives for adults who would otherwise continue smoking are a way of reducing harm, Michel says. It’s important to remember that cigarettes burn tobacco, and the chemical reaction of burning results in the production of smoke that contains thousands of chemicals that are associated with smoking-related diseases.
On the other hand, heated tobacco products, vapes and oral smokeless products do not burn anything; there is no combustion and no production of smoke. However, they are not risk-free and do contain nicotine, which is addictive.
“For adult Canadians who would otherwise continue smoking cigarettes and using nicotine, the adoption of those smoke-free alternatives may reduce the harm of continuing to use nicotine products,” Michel says.
Canada can learn from other countries such as Sweden, which introduced tobacco-control measures more than 50 years ago. It offers a product called Snus that is a moist tobacco powder pouch that’s placed under the lip. Over the past 15 years, Sweden has slashed its smoking rates from 15 per cent in 2008 to 5.6 per cent today. The Swedish Experience suggests that we can reduce cigarette use by offering more information about and accessibility to alternative smoke free products.
“Scientific innovation is at the heart of smoking harm reduction, and we also need awareness and adoption of those solutions to improve public health outcomes. There is no doubt in my mind that Canada could benefit in the same way that other countries have,” Michel says.
“It’s time to rebalance our approach and policies. Engaging people with rigorous scientific discussions and collaborative, common-sense policies will help us achieve a smoke-free future that benefits all Canadians.”
This story was created by Content Works, Postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges.