November 17, 2011   The government currently mandates 20 cigarettes per pack, but Jody Sindelar from the Yale School of Public Health says that cutting down to 10 cigarettes per pack could bolster willpower and help smokers quit. She argues that a smaller pack can nudge smokers to smoke even less, just as buying only a pint of ice cream is safer for a dieter than buying a gallon. Many smokers don’t purchase cartons because they want to limit their smoking, and they are willing to pay a higher price per cigarette to limit their availability. Congress recently gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the jurisdiction to regulate tobacco products, and Sindelar argues that the FDA should include portion size in the development of their new tobacco regulations. This would change what it means to be a pack-a-day smoker.

For More Information:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/17/opinion/sindelar-cigarette-packs/