Modeling Shows E-cigarette Legalization Unwise
Doan TTT, Tan KW, Dickens BSL, Lean YA, Yang Q, Cook AR. Evaluating smoking control policies in the e-cigarette era: a modeling study. Tobacco Control. Published 4 September 2019; Click here
In a study which models introducing electronic cigarettes in “countries with limited data on the potential rates of e-cigarette uptake”, researchers compared freely opening the market to e-cigarettes to a range of possible policies restricting e-cigarettes. They compared less aggressive to more aggressive policies. They conclude: “This modeling study suggests that legalizing e-cigarettes may not be the best available approach to tobacco end-game (reducing tobacco use to a very low level) in settings where e-cigarettes are yet to be licensed. In such settings, there is an argument that e-cigarettes, if at all permitted, should be tightly controlled and coupled with policies to restrict uptake of smoking among youths, such as the (smoke-free generation) SFG policy.”
