Jordan is facing a grave health crisis as eight out of every ten male adults use tobacco. Today the country has the highest smoking prevalence in the world. On average adult smokers in Jordan smoke 21.3 cigarettes in a day.

Jordan has to factor in tobacco harm reduction as part of the solutions to address the problem of smoking. Research has clearly indicated that harm reduction can play a significant role in bringing down smoking prevalence. Tobacco harm reduction seeks to prevent or reduce the damage caused by the toxins generated by tobacco combustion for smokers unable or unwilling to stop, rather than aiming at complete abstinence from nicotine use.

In March 2020, Public Health England advised smokers to switch to e-cigarettes to help them quit smoking, but at the same time asked non-smokers not to take up vaping. This advice comes after six annual independent reports commissioned by PHE on vaping in England.

The harm reduction approaches should be backed by strong cessation interventions. Though cessation has been a vital part of reducing smoking prevalence, it has remained a missing link globally. A majority of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, including Jordan have lagged behind in the promotion of harm reduction and smoking cessation. For example, Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is not on the national list of essential medicines in Jordan. In order to counter the high prevalence of smoking in Jordan, it is time to take drastic measures to help smokers quit, including the adoption of harm reduction approach for smoking cessation.