The Political Economy of Nicotine: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Who Pays
The nicotine policy landscape is shaped by political economy: the distribution of costs and benefits, the organization of interests, and the exercise of power. Understanding the political economy is essential to changing it.
The cigarette industry wins from the status quo. The pharmaceutical industry wins. State governments dependent on tobacco taxes win. Tobacco control NGOs win. **The losers: smokers, vapers, future generations of nicotine users—the diffuse, disorganized beneficiaries of reform. The political economy of nicotine policy is the reason reform is so difficult: the costs of change are concentrated among powerful actors, and the benefits are distributed among the powerless. Changing the political economy requires organizing the powerless.**
