RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Tobacco endgame strategies: challenges in ethics and law
JF Tobacco Control
JO Tob Control
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP i55
OP i57
DO 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050839
VO 22
IS suppl 1
A1 Bryan P Thomas
A1 Lawrence O Gostin
YR 2013
UL http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/22/suppl_1/i55.abstract
AB There are complex legal and ethical tradeoffs involved in using intensified regulation to bring smoking prevalence to near-zero levels. The authors explore these tradeoffs through a lens of health justice, paying particular attention to the potential impact on vulnerable populations. The ethical tradeoffs explored include the charge that heavy regulation is paternalistic; the potentially regressive impact of heavily taxing a product consumed disproportionately by the poor; the simple loss of enjoyment to heavily addicted smokers; the health risks posed by, for example, regulating nicotine content in cigarettes—where doing so leads to increased consumption. Turning to legalistic concerns, the authors explore whether endgame strategies constitute a form of ‘regulatory taking’; whether endgame strategies can be squared with global trade/investment laws; whether free speech rights are infringed by aggressive restrictions on the advertisement and marketing of cigarettes.