In today's world, people are increasingly thinking about maintaining their health, and harm reduction principles and new technologies help solve this difficult problem. Today, we will talk about three examples of innovations that can help reduce health risks – smokeless alternatives to cigarettes, air purifiers, and glasses with protection from UV and blue radiation.
Technological progress allows us to move forward, but it also carries many health risks. For example, due to the development of industries and the growing number of cars, the air in cities is becoming increasingly polluted, and the modern pace of life makes many people experience stress. Large manufacturers in a variety of areas offer their solutions to reduce the harmful effects of urbanization, digitalization and other trends of the time. Among such devices that reduce the negative impact of urban conditions, in particular, less harmful smokeless alternatives to cigarettes with reduced risk, air purifiers and glasses with protection from harmful radiation from smartphone and laptop screens. Let's figure out how these innovative gadgets help reduce harm and fight bad habits.
Less harmful alternatives do not just appear out of nowhere, but in those sectors where consumers demand them. For example, air purifiers appeared and became popular against the background of deteriorating ecology and air quality, which are especially typical for cities. Air purifiers help create a safe environment at home, in which you can hide from pollutants from the street. How do they work? The mechanism of an air purifier is quite simple: a built-in fan sucks in air, and filters clean it from harmful particles. Then the cleaned air is again supplied through the fan into the room.
Smokeless alternatives to cigarettes help adult smokers reduce harm to their own bodies and at the same time solve the problem of passive smoking, as they do not pose a danger to others and do not pollute the environment with smoke. The technology of most smokeless devices is based on heating tobacco, not burning it, as happens when smoking cigarettes. It is the combustion products that are recognized as causing the main harm to the body, since when burning cigarettes emit about 7,000 substances with smoke, of which 69 are especially toxic carcinogens that increase the risk of cancer and other dangerous non-communicable diseases. Tar, carbon monoxide, and other toxic substances lead to serious illnesses in smokers and even death.
Unlike cigarettes, alternative methods of nicotine delivery that exclude the combustion process, such as tobacco heating systems, do not allow the combustion process. It has been scientifically proven that such smokeless alternatives emit an aerosol that is 95% less harmful than tobacco smoke. They heat the tobacco stick, but do not ignite it, which is why they are recognized as a less harmful alternative even by the strict American Food and Drug Administration – FDA.
This authoritative agency, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, conducted a “ Comparing the Risks of Tobacco Products,” which acknowledged that while no tobacco product is safe, the health risks associated with different tobacco products can be ranked. And non-combustible tobacco products, such as heated tobacco and other smokeless alternatives, generally pose fewer health risks than cigarettes and tobacco products that involve combustion.
A modern person, especially a young one, can hardly imagine his life without smartphones, tablets and computers. But opening a window to the big world, these gadgets at the same time carry risks to eye health and health in general. Glasses with protection from UV and blue radiation are created, first of all, to minimize the impact of the screen on the eyes and on the quality of sleep.
This impact is reduced by built-in lenses that either block light or “filter” light waves from the smartphone screen, protecting the eyes from overstrain. Although blue-screen-protective glasses have not yet been sufficiently studied by researchers, the work of some scientists and associations already confirms that they are able to reduce the impact of blue light, which inhibits the production of melatonin, on healthy and sound sleep.
Innovative developments sometimes cost more than traditional options. The higher cost of innovations is due not only to the fact that they simplify the user's life, as happens, for example, with tobacco heating systems that do not leave an unpleasant odor on hair and clothes, but also with huge investments in their creation. After all, the development and appearance on the market of the same smokeless products was preceded by many scientific studies and their impact on the body and the environment continues to be studied. And a whole team of scientists of various profiles and engineers works on such developments.
When it comes to air purifiers, their cost also depends on their functionality and power. For example, while some air purifiers mainly deal with dust and allergens, others also absorb volatile organic compounds and solid particles, which lead to diseases such as asthma, COPD, and cardiovascular problems.
In turn, when choosing glasses with blue light blocking, you should focus not only on the technology itself, but also on such parameters as the frame material and its design.
Many experts believe that all the technologies cited as examples will certainly develop and improve in the future. Thus, in the case of smoking, traditional methods of struggle do not bring success and, according to forecasts, the number of smokers will increase even more. At the same time, countries that have relied on supporting smokeless alternatives have managed to significantly reduce the number of smokers. Among such countries are Sweden, Japan, Great Britain, New Zealand and others.
Social networks, remote work and study, AI technologies, and so on continue to develop and become an ever more integral part of our lives. This means that the market for glasses with protection from UV and blue radiation will also remain in demand. According to some estimates, the world is expecting a real boom in the development of technologies such as glasses that block harmful radiation from the screen.
And there is no need to give examples of ecology, because despite all the efforts of the "greens", the problem of its deterioration in general and air pollution in particular will remain relevant for a long time. In this regard, the world market for purifiers will grow , and, according to the forecast, at an average annual rate of 10%.
It is quite possible that the alternative and innovative technologies we have discussed today will soon become a necessity. But even now, everyone who is thinking about maintaining health can make a choice in favor of reducing risks and thereby preventing those diseases that can be avoided by changing habits and lifestyle. And innovations can help them with this today.