The regulation of tobacco and substances that have traditionally been Illicit (e.g., cannabis) are heading in opposite directions with tobacco policies heading toward sales bans, while many jurisdictions have moved to legalise cannabis. This convergence in control approaches offers opportunities for policy researchers to learn from the illicit drug policy field in reforming the regulation of tobacco. This includes issues related to the illicit tobacco market and also new models of supply that are more restrictive than the current options for tobacco products.

About the speaker

Associate Professor Coral Gartner is the Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame (Tobacco Endgame CRE). Since completing her PhD in 2006, her research has focused on tobacco control policy and smoking cessation interventions. She is the Regional Editor for Australasia for the BMJ journal, Tobacco Control, and is currently the President Elect of the Oceania Chapter of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT-O). Her multidisciplinary research program aims to develop the evidence base for tobacco endgame strategies and to identify the most promising policies that could end the cigarette epidemic in Australia, and beyond. Her research program includes consideration of how these policies could be implemented, while mitigating potential unintended impacts and increasing equity. Her research methods include cohort studies, clinical trials, policy analyses, simulation modelling and mixed methods research.