3 min read
The Implementation Gap: Why Good Policies Fail—and How to Make Them Work
A policy is only as good as its implementation. Flavor bans that aren't enforced, age restrictions that aren't verified, PMTA requirements that aren't processed—the implementation gap is where nicotine policy goes to die.
The federal Tobacco 21 law is a good policy on paper. Its implementation—FDA compliance checks that reach a fraction of retailers, penalties that are too modest to deter violations—is inadequate. **The implementation gap is where nicotine policy goes to die. Policies are announced, celebrated, and then under-enforced. The gap between the law-on-the-books and the law-in-practice is vast—and it's growing as regulatory ambition outpaces enforcement capacity.**
