Introduction

Despite progress over the past six decades, smoking remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. This chapter explains why tobacco control has failed to end the smoking epidemic, and why some groups hope that e-cigarettes may facilitate smoking cessation. There is, however, broad disagreement over how e-cigarettes should be regulated, based on the imperfect evidence base with which to judge their safety and efficacy. Inaccurate reporting on the data, misinformation, mistrust of the tobacco industry and differences in the proffered priorities and strategies between stakeholder groups all further challenge regulator's efforts to grapple with the tradeoffs inherent to optimal regulation. This chapter introduces this book’s thesis: e-cigarette regulation should be informed not only by the scientific study of their safety and efficacy but also by the economic and policy analytic study of consumer demand, which is itself influenced by policy decisions. As the scientific evidence for the safety and risks of e-cigarettes develops, so too does the evidence that unintended consequences follow imperfectly designed policies. These experiences should provide another important strand in the evidence base underpinning e-cigarette regulation in the future.