UGA College of Public Health
Health Policy & Management
Spring Seminar Series

Tobacco and Substance Policies, Intervention Evaluation, and Disparities

Guest Speaker: Dr. Zongshuan Duan

This seminar will take place on Thursday, February 2, 2023 at 12:45 p.m. at Wright Hall Annex on the UGA Health Sciences Campus. Everyone is welcome to attend! For more information, contact Janani Thapa.

Over the past decade, the tobacco and cannabis product marketplace has become increasingly diversified in the U.S. and globally to include a variety of innovative products, which are particularly popular among youth and young adults. In addition, the industry is adopting diverse and innovative strategies to promote their products, potentially targeting vulnerable population groups to widen the continued disparities. Moreover, the regulatory environment of tobacco and cannabis has dramatically evolved in recent years. Given the diversifying landscape and continued disparities, empirical studies are urgently needed to provide strong evidence on regulatory actions to address issues related to substance use, especially for population groups that have disproportionately experienced the burden of substance-related diseases. My research experience focused on tobacco and substance market monitoring, transition behaviors and disparities, and regulatory policies. My current research uses a socioecological framework to investigate social and environmental determinants related to tobacco and cannabis use. A second focus of my current work uses multiple forms of data and analytical approaches to examine the marketing strategies of tobacco and cannabis industry. The third area of my current work focuses on health equities among population subgroups and related social and environmental determinants, including socio-economic factors, targeted marketing, health policies, and interventions.