Bans Don’t Eliminate Demand! | GFN Voices 2026 #6 2 Sep 2026

Banning products doesn’t necessarily eliminate demand. Prohibition can push consumers toward black markets, reduce regulatory control, and create unintended consequences for public health. Timur Abdullaev explored prohibition, tobacco harm reduction, nicotine policy, and the challenges of trying to reduce smoking through increasingly restrictive policies. He also examined why nicotine, tobacco, and smoking should not be treated as synonymous — and what happens when they are.