3 min read
Access Justice: Why Making Reduced-Risk Products Available Is a Social Justice Issue
The populations with the highest smoking rates are the populations with the least access to reduced-risk products. The access gap is not a market failure. It's a policy choice—and an injustice.
The affluent smoker can afford a quality vaping device, can access online retailers, and has the information to choose an effective product. The low-income smoker buys the cheapest disposable at the corner store, finds it unsatisfying, and returns to cigarettes. **The access gap is not an accident. It's the product of policies that restrict reduced-risk products (driving up costs) and fail to subsidize them for the smokers who need them most. Access to harm reduction is a social justice issue.**
