Economics Seminar Economics (ESE) - 2023/2024

Interviene: Davide Dragone, Università di Bologna

Titolo: Harm Reduction: When Does It Improve Health, and When Does it Backfire?

Abstract: Some harm reduction strategies encourage individuals to switch from a harmful addictive good to a less harmful addictive good; examples include e-cigarettes (substitutes for combustible
cigarettes) and methadone and buprenorphine (substitutes for opioids). These have proven to be
controversial. Advocates argue that people struggling with addiction benefit because they can
switch to a less harmful substance, but opponents argue that this could encourage abstainers to
begin using the harm-reduction method or even, eventually, the original addictive good. This
paper builds on theories of addiction to model the introduction of a harm reduction method, and
demonstrates the conditions under which each side is correct.