Economist Kevin Callison, then of Grand Valley State, co-authored the study Do Higher Taxes Reduce Adult Smoking in 2014, finding that it would take a tax hike of 100% to reduce the adult smoking rate by just 5%
Given social acceptability and confusing messaging around the harms of vaping (vaping is a safer alternative for smokers, but not safe for non-smokers), as well as the presence of flavorants and increasing product placement in movies, televisions shows and advertisements, you might expect more people to get hooked than would become addicted to cigarettes in our current social environment
Pout and about: Mel's male companion cut a trendy look wearing his shirt open over his T-shirt and jeans but he wore a baseball cap to keep a low profile The songstress revealed her 'traumatic' marriage to Stephen caused her to suffer from PTSD when she appeared on Loose Women in September
The consequences of those misconceptions are as predictable as they are depressing: Exclusive cigarette smoking almost doubled between 2019 and 2020 among people who believe that vaping is more harmful than smoking, a finding that, as the authors of the study delicately put it, suggest[s] the need for accurate messaging of relative and absolute product risks. New York Universitys Jennifer Cantrell is one of the rare researchers who sees both sides in this debate: She studies population-level media messaging about tobacco health risks and is a former managing director at the Truth Initiative, which has taken a hard line against vaping
The World Health Organisation estimates there are approximately 1.1 billion smokers in the world today - and come 2025, the number will be roughly the same
