Conventional wisdom once held that the demand for addictive substances like cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs was unlike that for any other economic good and, therefore, unresponsive to traditional market forces. Recently, however, researchers from two disparate fields, economics and behavioral psychology, have found that increases in the overall price of an addictive substance can significantly reduce both the number of users and the amounts those users consume. Changes in the "full price" of addictive substances including monetary value, time outlay, effort to obtain, and potential penalties...

The formation of drug policy is a complex phenomena influenced by a multi tude of sources. Among others, these influences include historical factors, contemporary public opinion regarding the nature and magnitude of drug use and abuse, the portrayal of illicit drugs and drug use in the media, and lobbying efforts by special interest groups (e. g., The Drug Policy Foundation), including government agencies (e. g., the Justice Department and law enforcement). An additional source of influence are the activities of specialists directly engaged in studying drug use and treating drug dependence....

Behavioral economics is a rapidly developing area of psychological science that has synergistically merged microeconomic concepts with behavioral research methods. A driving force behind the growth of behavioral economics has been its recent application to behaviors that significantly affect health. The book examines the latest behavioral economic research on smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, obesity, gambling, and other poor health habits, and explores the implications for individual and community interventions and policy directions.
This innovative book describes new concepts and...

Impulsivity explores the basis for the seemingly universal tendency to devalue rewards or punishments that are not immediately available. When confronted with any number of modern impulsive behaviors such as drug use, pathological gambling, marital infidelity, and gluttony individuals have a choice with two outcomes: an immediate benefit, such as getting high, or a delayed or probabilistic benefit, such as health, money saved, or the satisfaction of a good life. This volume is an approachable, comprehensive overview of the behavioral science and neuroscience of these impulsive choices and...