Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2013
Abstract
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.
Publication Citation
22 Tobacco Control i55-i57, (2013), http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/22/suppl_1/i55.full.pdf+html
Scholarly Commons Citation
Thomas, Bryan P. and Gostin, Lawrence O., "Tobacco Endgame Strategies: Challenges in Ethics and Law" (2013). Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works. 1201.
https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/1201
Included in
Bioethics and Medical Ethics Commons, Constitutional Law Commons, Health Law and Policy Commons, Public Health Commons, Public Policy Commons