There is a lie about smoking which will lead to the deaths of thousands.

The lie? That the only choice to quitting is dying.

If you are a smoker, the best thing you can do if you wish to live a long and healthy life is to quit. However, there are alternatives to quitting which, although not one hundred percent safe, are vastly superior to smoking tobacco cigarettes.

Why is smoking bad?

According to the TobaccoHarmReduction.org website the real danger in cigarettes is not the tobacco, it's what's done with it. When you puff a cigarette you generate temperatures of up to 950 degrees centigrade, and as the smoke cools down hundreds of chemicals are created.

You  may not know exactly what causes the majority of harm in cigarettes, but you are probably very aware that smoking is bad for you. What you may not realise is that the nicotine which you inefficiently obtain from cigarettes can be enjoyed in other, safer forms.

Tobacco Harm Reduction

"...in the best ... studies available today snus do not increase any cause of death."

Dr Joel Nitzkin, Chair of the Tobacco Control Task Force for the American Association of Public Health Physicians

From a health point, the safest thing to do is to quit nicotine and cigarettes.

However, if you can't or don't want to quit nicotine, it makes sense to enjoy nicotine in a safer form.

Nicotine is addictive, and may be harmful to health. However, it is certainly not nearly as bad as nicotine with the addition of tar, dozens of carcinogens and hundreds of chemicals (many of which have not been identified yet).

There are numerous safer ways to enjoy nicotine. Conventional nicotine replacement therapies, such as nicotine patches, are only designed for use for a temporary period, but are still undoubtedly safer than smoking.

Modern smokeless tobacco, such as snus  and electronic cigarettes are designed to replace cigarettes on a longer term basis. Some scientists, such as Joel Nitzkin, believe these alternatives carry one percent or less of the risk of cigarettes and have the potential to save the lives of 4 million Americans.

Quit, die or switch

"Rather than the unattainable standard of ‘safe' we should be thinking in terms of ‘safer'. Despite the risks associated with soccer, I would, for instance, prefer my children play soccer rather than play with live hand grenades."

David Sweanor, former advisor to the WHO, on the health risks of e-cigarettes

The debate over tobacco harm reduction has been confused by big money and vicious politics.

Tobacco harm reduction threatens the revenue of both tobacco companies and pharmaceutical companies who sell smoking cessation products.

It also threatens a fanatic anti-smoking lobby which dreams of a tobacco and nicotine free society - AND tax revenue for government spending.

But if you are a smoker who can't quit, you might just wish to ignore the arguments and bickering between the anti-smoking and tobacco harm reduction lobbies - and switch from hand grenades to football.