Good public health policies comes at the cost of an individual’s convenience. I see it in the ER.

I am jealous of the efforts for car safety. We desperately need the same multidisciplinary approach for drugs and addiction. Sadly, wise public health decisions are getting pushed aside for economic benefit and the call for individual freedom. For example, electronic cigarettes hit the market without appropriate public health consideration. The industry used an untested health claim that vaping helps tobacco cessation to promote its products. However, epidemiologic studies show that for every one adult who quits cigarettes using e-cigarettes, 80 adolescents who never smoked will eventually become daily smokers through e-cigarette use.

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