Jonathan Liberman

Towards a comprehensive regulatory framework for tobacco

While tobacco regulation has progressed significantly over the last 20 years, tobacco, and the conduct of the tobacco industry, remain substantially under-regulated both in proportion to the degree of harm they cause and with respect to the way in which that harm is caused.

The ingredients of the product itself remain unregulated, notwithstanding the product’s toxicity and addictiveness and the use by tobacco manufacturers of additives that affect both physiological impact and palatability. Tobacco manufacturers do not comprehensively inform consumers of the full range and magnitude of health risks. Potentially less harmful products are becoming available, but face much more stringent regulation than do the most harmful products. The tobacco industry continues to seek new ways of communicating with its market, in the face of efforts worldwide to restrict tobacco advertising. And, despite regulatory attempts to reduce tobacco-related harm, the industry is left to operate with a profit incentive such that the more products it sells, the more harm it causes, the more money it makes.

This paper will explore future approaches to regulation of the tobacco industry through both public health and legal perspectives. It will examine ways to meet the major current regulatory challenges through a comprehensive regulatory framework.

Back to abstracts section