Prohibition Does Not Lead to Better Health for Americans
Whether it is alcohol, drugs, or tobacco, banning products does not lead to improved public health. Still, history is fraught with examples of attempts to do so, all of which have failed. When governments have attempted to institute such prohibitions, the outcomes have often been worse than the risks associated with the banned products themselves.
Currently, legislative actions at all levels of government and across the country are in play to ban tobacco and nicotine products. At the national level, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products has a rule under consideration that would act as a de facto ban of cigarettes and other tobacco products. It would also slow (to sub-glacial speeds) the review and authorization of reduced-risk products, such as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS, also known as e-cigarettes), heated tobacco products, and modern oral nicotine pouches. At the state level, flavored nicotine products are being banned, despite scientific evidence demonstrating that such products can help those who smoke to quit. And even local towns and communities are instituting their own bans—from prohibiting flavored products to eliminating tobacco products altogether over time, known as “generational lifetime” bans.
Beyond the time wasted and costs to the community implementing such bans, the lack of focus on finding solutions to the real problems associated with smoking-related death and disease keeps communities at risk. Instead, legislators at all levels should focus on instituting policies that work to help those who smoke find pathways to better health. The following three explainers provide an overview of examples of over-regulation or prohibition of tobacco and nicotine products in California, Massachusetts, and New York.
Over-regulation Creates More Problems Than It Solves: California
Over-regulation Creates More Problems Than It Solves: Flavor Bans in Massachusetts
Over-regulation Creates More Problems Than It Solves: Bans in New York