CCHE Seminar Series: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Legalizing Nicotine Vapes and Recreational Cannabis

The Good, Bad and Ugly of Legalizing Nicotine Vapes and Recreational Cannabis

Robert Schwartz
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto 

Friday October 29, 2021, 10am-12pm, Zoom

Abstract: Nicotine e-cigarettes and recreational cannabis were both legalized in Canada in 2018. Legalization of both promised positive population health outcomes while at the same time causing concern of substantial risk. The presentation will compare the regulatory policy frameworks for nicotine vapes and recreational cannabis. It will explore the extent to which both the promises and risks of legalization have been realized. The profit-seeking imperatives of commercialized markets will be examined from a perspective of optimizing regulatory policies so as to maximize population health benefits and minimize harms.

Robert Schwartz is Executive Director of the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, Professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and Senior Scientist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Dr. Schwartz is Director of the U of T Collaborative Specialization in Public Health Policy. He leads the Strategy Design and Evaluation and is Head of the Social and Behavioural Sciences Division. His research interests include (1) Tobacco Control Policy, (2) e-cigarettes (3) cannabis (4) Strategy design and evaluation, (4) Public Health Policy (5) Accountability (6) The Politics and Quality of Evaluation, (7) Performance Measurement and Performance Auditing.