Tobacco Regulation, Economics, and Public Health, Volume III Clearing the Air on E-Cigarettes and Harm Reduction

What role should the tobacco industry have in the e-cigarette market? Should manufacturers contribute to the production of evidence on their products’ safety and efficacy? What are the environmental impacts of e-cigarette use and how should these feature in the discussion? How do e-cigarettes influence smoking-related health disparities? Should physicians recommend switching to e-cigarettes for those who smoke? How broadly applicable is the utility of e-cigarettes? And how should the discourse respond to emerging data? This volume examines the opportunities and challenges of optimizing e-cigarette regulation. The authors describe emerging evidence suggesting that restrictions on e-cigarettes can backfire by nudging consumers toward riskier alternatives. Adopting a social welfare-based approach drawing on economics, policy analysis and regulatory science, the authors then explore how optimal e-cigarette policy might balance risks and benefits, suggesting that it is possibleto leverage the promise of e-cigarettes—a product that is more popular than traditional cessation aids—to protect current and future generations from the smoking-related harms, while still taking important steps to discourage use by young people and those who do not smoke.

Samuel C. Hampsher-Monk is Managing Director of BOTEC Analysis, where he leads research on the regulation of tobacco, cannabis, and reduced-risk nicotine products for public and private clients, including 501(c)(3) groups and LLPs, as well as municipal and state regulators. He holds a BA in Politics and Philosophy from the University of Southampton and a MSc from the University of Edinburgh.

James E. Prieger, an economist, is Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine University and Senior Researcher at BOTEC Analysis, where he leads research on illicit tobacco markets, alternative nicotine products, and related policy issues. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters. He received his BA from Yale University and his PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Sudhanshu Patwardhan is a medical doctor working on tobacco harm reduction projects globally. He has worked inR&D in the pharma and tobacco sectors across three continents. Patwardhan qualified as a doctor from BJ Medical College Pune, India, received a Master of Business and Science from the Keck Graduate Institute, California, USA, and holds an MBA from the London Business School, UK