Recently, several U.S. tobacco control experts have called for a more balanced approach to e-cigarette regulation.
In a paper titled “Proposed U.S. E-Cigarette Policy Agenda: Products, Prices, Locations, and Promotions,” the authors observe that many Americans are confused about the relative harms of nicotine use and that the public message around the substance tends to be – more focused on helping youth quit than on helping adults to quit smoking than to discourage youth use.
“U.S. policy on e-cigarettes has focused on measures aimed at reducing e-cigarette smoking among youth, including taxing e-cigarettes and limiting flavors,” said Kenneth Warner, who authored the paper with colleagues Cliff Douglas and Karalyn Kiessling of the University of Michigan.
“Unfortunately, some measures may backfire. For example, e-cigarette taxes that reduce e-cigarette smoking among youth may also increase smoking rates among children if matched with at least comparable cigarette tax increases. Similarly, some of these youth-oriented taxes appear to be reducing e-cigarette use among adult users, increasing their rates of cigarette smoking and reducing cessation. We need to find policies that simultaneously address the broadly shared dual goals of preventing youth from smoking e-cigarettes and increasing adult cessation.”
The authors advocate for “substantial state and federal excise taxes on cigarettes and other combustible tobacco products and more modest excise taxes on e-cigarettes.”