Should e-cigarettes be banned? Regulated? Or even recommended by clinicians? While respirologists can inform us of the potential benefits or detriments to using e-cigarettes over regular tobacco, there is no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to setting the policies around their usage. Drs. Harvard, Winsberg, Duan, and Carlsten argue that current discussion of e-cigarettes and related policies reflects hidden disagreements over three ethical questions:
1) Decision Procedures – What procedure should be followed to make the decision?
2) Relevant Duties or Outcomes – What public health duties or outcomes are relevant to the decision, and what is their relative importance?
3) Standards of Evidence – What evidence is appropriate to include in the decision-making process?
Disagreements in policy debates often arise from ethical differences rather than empirical questions. By addressing ethical questions directly, respirologists can help better inform public deliberations around e-cigarettes.
Read the full paper published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society: https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1513/AnnalsATS.202402-186IP
