Smoking norms and the regulation of e-cigarettes

Journal article

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) —commonly called ‘electronic cigarettes’ — are at the centre of a polarised debate. How should they be regulated? Central to the debate has been the concern that electronic cigarettes could lead to the ‘renormalisation’ of smoking and that, for that reason, the regulation of ENDS should be modelled on the regulation of conventional cigarettes. I argue that concerns about the renormalisation of smoking can lend support to restrictions on marketing of ENDS but that these arguments are problematic when used to support restrictions on where ENDS can be used. The debate has been insufficiently sensitive to the ethical complexities surrounding attempts to manipulate social norms to change health behaviours; these complexities must also inform the debate about ENDS and their regulation.

Authors: Voigt, K

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Public Health Association
• Journal: American Journal of Public Health More from this journal
• Volume: 105
• Issue: 10
• Pages: 1967-1972
• Publication date: 2015-10-09
• Acceptance date: 2015-05-09
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302764
• EISSN: 1541-0048
• ISSN: 0090-0036