Research / Book

The Tobacco Trap

Smoking, vaping, and nicotine pouches: how taxation, prohibition, and illicit markets interact — and what comparative risk actually tells us about harm reduction policy.
Roger BateSeptember 2026
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Tobacco policy is caught in a trap of its own making: taxation and prohibition that fuel illicit markets, and resistance to lower-risk alternatives that could reduce harm. The book examines smoking, vaping, and nicotine pouches through the lens of comparative risk — and asks who benefits from the status quo.

PUBLICATIONIn print
FORMATSHardback · eBook
SUBJECTTobacco and nicotine
RESEARCH BASEPA retail audits & field studies