22/08/2026
Why Evidence Matters: harm reduction, regulation and the realities of prohibition
Does prohibition actually work? Or does it feed black markets, weaken oversight and make consumers harder to protect?
Tim Andrews is Director of Consumer Issues at Americans for Tax Reform and the Tholos Foundation, and the author of Why Prohibition Fails: The Case for Smoke-Free Alternatives. In this conversation, he looks at the evidence on to***co harm reduction and the choices in front of Sri Lankan policymakers.
The conversation covers why combustion drives the harm in smoking, how ci******es differ from smoke-free ni****ne alternatives, and whether prohibition or proportionate regulation is the better answer to an illicit market that already exists.
It also covers the concerns people raise most: protecting underage users, product standards, marketing rules, consumer safety, and what New Zealand, Australia and Brazil have done.
No one here is promoting smoking or va**ng. The point is the evidence: what has happened in other countries, and what goes wrong when policy is built on ideology instead of real-world results.
Agree or disagree, informed policy starts with an informed conversation.
Watch the full podcast now.
The report is available to download in English and Sinhala at the link below.
English:
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67be6c85f97e9d59ae2c012e/6a062d4c980aaae2152188bc_Sri%20Lanka%20English%20FINAL.pdf
Sinhala:
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67be6c85f97e9d59ae2c012e/6a062b60aa0b6c7f68337821_Sri%20Lanka%20Sinhala%20FINAL.pdf
