The future of tobacco control: exploring the feasibility, acceptability and cost-effectiveness of new policy directions

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

We will examine the practical feasibility, ethical and public acceptability, and likely cost effectiveness of a number of different ways of reducing tobacco smoking and the harm caused by smoking in Australia. These policy options will include: (1) more restrictive policies towards tobacco products (such as prohibiting tobacco smoking and creating a government monopoly on the manufacture and supply of tobacco); (2) encouraging smokers to switch from smoking cigarettes to less harmful ways of using nicotine, such as using nicotine patches or gum ; (3) using new biotechnologies to improve smokers chances of quitting (e.g. genetic screening of smokers to select the most effective way of helping them to stop smoking and vaccinating ex-smokers against the effects of nicotine); and (4) new biotechnologies that may prevent nonsmokers from beginning to smoke (e.g. vaccinating nonsmokers against the effects of nicotine) or reduce the chances of their developing tobacco-related diseases (e.g. screening the population for genes that predict an increased susceptibility to nicotine dependence and tobacco-related diseases). The project will provide important information that will assist government in formulating policies to reduce the rate of cigarette smoking in the Australian population below current levels.