Dear Colleagues,

Despite considerable progress achieved in tobacco control efforts and steady reduction in smoking prevalence as well as the size of smoking population at the global level, tobacco use remains one of the major risk factors for non-communicable diseases.  It is the single most preventable cause of death globally, with over 7 million people dying each year from diseases caused by tobacco use. Meanwhile, alternative products such as electronic nicotine delivery systems and heat-not-burn cigarettes pose new challenges and opportunities for tobacco control. In order to understand how existing and potential regulation of alternative products impacts tobacco use and public health, more evidence is needed. Furthermore, the deaths and disease burden are expected to continue to shift to lower income populations and jurisdictions who are experiencing a rise in tobacco consumption. It is therefore critical to enhance the knowledge and understanding of how to accelerate the pace of reduction in tobacco use, especially among the most vulnerable populations, based on scientific evidence and the experience of tobacco control initiatives in diverse policy setting.

This Special Issue welcomes studies and reviews belonging to, each or the interface of, three broad areas of tobacco control policies:

(i)  Demand reduction (e.g., tobacco taxation, smoke-free laws, regulation of tobacco product content and disclosures, plain packaging, warning labels, knowledge and awareness about the harms of tobacco use, ban on tobacco advertising promotion and sponsorship, support for tobacco use cessation);

(ii)  Supply reduction (e.g., elimination of illicit trade in tobacco products, ban on sales to and by minors, promotion of economically viable alternatives for tobacco dependent livelihoods); and

(iii)  Harm reduction (e.g., regulation of alternative nicotine delivery products, such as, electronic cigarettes, smokeless tobacco products).

This special issue will provide readers with state-of-the-art policy perspective on tobacco control aimed at the protection of people’s health and environment. It will also pave the way forward for scientific research and action to overcome emerging challenges that are slowing down the target reduction of tobacco use.

Prof. Dr. Frank J. Chaloupka
Dr. Nigar Nargis
Dr. Ce Shang
Guest Editors

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• Tobacco control policies
• Impact analysis
• Tobacco regulatory science
• Regulation of alternative tobacco products
• Innovation in tobacco control policies
• Policies reducing disparities in tobacco use
• Reduce and eliminate illicit tobacco trade
• Policy impacts on vulnerable populations