The first volume of this three-volume resource presents a historical analysis of the practice of smoking, the rise and fall of the cigarette market, and the successes and failures of tobacco control. While taxes, regulations, and various behavioral and pharmacological interventions have helped many people to quit smoking, they have not helped everyone. The authors explain why these strategies alone are likely insufficient to elicit smoking cessation among the remaining group, and why “ramping up” these strategies may also backfire.

Drawing on examples from the U.S., Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, this volume introduces the technology of e-cigarettes, explaining the origins of the innovation, patterns of use among consumers, and the perception of e-cigarettes among key stakeholder groups.

For millions, e-cigarettes provide a means to relieve nicotine cravings while avoiding harmful cigarette smoke. In the second volume in this three-volume resource, the authors provide a critical review of evidence concerning the health effects of vaping and whether using e-cigarettes helps or hinders cessation from smoking. The empirical evidence, however, does not help decision-makers resolve the normative questions relating to e-cigarettes. Different priorities, values, and interpretations of available data have led to seemingly intractable disagreements between stakeholders about the promise of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation and the risks they pose to public health. The misinformation and motivated bias surrounding issues regarding vaping both follow from but also enhance polarization, perpetuating confusion about e-cigarettes and leading to poor decision-making by government agencies and people who smoke. The authors argue that, ultimately, the safety and efficacy of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation are not immutable properties of the product class–itself diverse and dynamic–but are also contingent upon the conditions of the regulatory environment, and the manner in which e-cigarettes are discussed by regulators and the media. This volume provides important context to help decision makers at all levels better understand the risk and benefits of e-cigarettes and the tradeoffs between them.

What role should the tobacco industry have in the e-cigarette market? Should manufacturers contribute to the production of evidence on their products’ safety and efficacy? What are the environmental impacts of e-cigarette use and how should these feature in the discussion? How do e-cigarettes influence smoking-related health disparities? Should physicians recommend switching to e-cigarettes for those who smoke? How broadly applicable is the utility of e-cigarettes? And how should the discourse respond to emerging data? This volume examines the opportunities and challenges of optimizing e-cigarette regulation. The authors describe emerging evidence suggesting that restrictions on e-cigarettes can backfire by nudging consumers toward riskier alternatives. Adopting a social welfare-based approach drawing on economics, policy analysis and regulatory science, the authors then explore how optimal e-cigarette policy might balance risks and benefits, suggesting that it is possibleto leverage the promise of e-cigarettes—a product that is more popular than traditional cessation aids—to protect current and future generations from the smoking-related harms, while still taking important steps to discourage use by young people and those who do not smoke.

The first volume of this three-volume resource presents a historical analysis of the practice of smoking, the rise and fall of the cigarette market, and the successes and failures of tobacco control. While taxes, regulations, and various behavioral and pharmacological interventions have helped many people to quit smoking, they have not helped everyone. The authors explain why these strategies alone are likely insufficient to elicit smoking cessation among the remaining group, and why “ramping up” these strategies may also backfire.

Drawing on examples from the U.S., Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, this volume introduces the technology of e-cigarettes, explaining the origins of the innovation, patterns of use among consumers, and the perception of e-cigarettes among key stakeholder groups.

For millions, e-cigarettes provide a means to relieve nicotine cravings while avoiding harmful cigarette smoke. In the second volume in this three-volume resource, the authors provide a critical review of evidence concerning the health effects of vaping and whether using e-cigarettes helps or hinders cessation from smoking. The empirical evidence, however, does not help decision-makers resolve the normative questions relating to e-cigarettes. Different priorities, values, and interpretations of available data have led to seemingly intractable disagreements between stakeholders about the promise of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation and the risks they pose to public health. The misinformation and motivated bias surrounding issues regarding vaping both follow from but also enhance polarization, perpetuating confusion about e-cigarettes and leading to poor decision-making by government agencies and people who smoke. The authors argue that, ultimately, the safety and efficacy of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation are not immutable properties of the product class–itself diverse and dynamic–but are also contingent upon the conditions of the regulatory environment, and the manner in which e-cigarettes are discussed by regulators and the media. This volume provides important context to help decision makers at all levels better understand the risk and benefits of e-cigarettes and the tradeoffs between them.

What role should the tobacco industry have in the e-cigarette market? Should manufacturers contribute to the production of evidence on their products’ safety and efficacy? What are the environmental impacts of e-cigarette use and how should these feature in the discussion? How do e-cigarettes influence smoking-related health disparities? Should physicians recommend switching to e-cigarettes for those who smoke? How broadly applicable is the utility of e-cigarettes? And how should the discourse respond to emerging data? This volume examines the opportunities and challenges of optimizing e-cigarette regulation. The authors describe emerging evidence suggesting that restrictions on e-cigarettes can backfire by nudging consumers toward riskier alternatives. Adopting a social welfare-based approach drawing on economics, policy analysis and regulatory science, the authors then explore how optimal e-cigarette policy might balance risks and benefits, suggesting that it is possibleto leverage the promise of e-cigarettes—a product that is more popular than traditional cessation aids—to protect current and future generations from the smoking-related harms, while still taking important steps to discourage use by young people and those who do not smoke.