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The Reform Moment: When Will the Window for Nicotine Policy Change Open?
Policy windows open when: a crisis focuses attention, a political alignment enables action, and a viable alternative is ready. The next nicotine policy window may be approaching. The reform agenda is waiting.
The last major nicotine policy window was 2009 (Tobacco Control Act). The next may be approaching: the PMTA backlog is unsustainable, the evidence for harm reduction is accumulating, and consumer pressure for reform is growing. **Policy windows are rare and brief. When one opens, the reform agenda must be ready. The agenda exists—risk-proportionate regulation, honest communication, consumer participation. The readiness does not. The reform community is fragmented, underfunded, and politically outmatched.**
