How can even economists call addiction rational?
This article introduces the economic approach to understanding and modeling substance use, including the economic implications of banning smoking in restaurants if the consumption of alcohol and cigarettes is complementary, and the impact of alternate drugs when they are substitutes for one another in economic terms. It also explains why economists who evaluate the effectiveness of antidrug misuse programs and policies prefer cost-benefit analysis to cost-effectiveness analysis generally used by public health researchers, despite the difficulty of defining and measuring the benefit of substance use to users. Answering this question may provide better approaches to deal with "substance use disease."
Ferguson
Brian S
BS
Department of Economics, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. brianfer@uoguelph.ca
D001290:Attitude; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004467:Economics; D006801:Humans; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics* / Q000523:psychology*