"Harm reduction is a collection of concepts and strategies that can be used to reduce adverse health consequences associated with drug use [1]. Harm reduction strategies can be conceptualized as a continuum of approaches from safer drug use practices to abstinence, with an underlying core ethos of a desire to meet people where they are at. As an alternative to the “zero tolerance” abstinence-only models of addiction treatment, the harm reduction model recognizes that abstinence may not be a desirable or achievable outcome for all people who use drugs [2]. Thus, practical strategies are necessary to reduce health-related harms associated with drug use (e.g., viral transmission of Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C (HCV) through shared drug use equipment, fatal and nonfatal overdose), rather than exclusively targeting drug consumption itself [3,4,5,6,7]."
Tapper, A., Ahern, C., Graveline-Long, Z. et al. The utilization and delivery of safer smoking practices and services: a narrative synthesis of the literature. Harm Reduct J 20, 160 (2023). doi.org/10.1186/s12954-023-00875-x
