To some degree the regulatory strategies adopted in the contexts of tobacco, alcohol, and diet are premised on the assumption that small shifts in risk across a population can have a significant impact on population health as a whole. In each context the underlying strategy is to either eliminate or minimize exposure to risk factors for disease. The rationale underpinning the measures discussed in this study is to focus government intervention on the consumption patterns of the population. This legal and regulatory approach does not reflect the entirety of government attempts to reduce noncommunicable disease. Public health authorities also use medical approaches to assist high-risk individuals. Examples include smoking-cessation programs, medical approaches to weight loss, and counseling. Authorities also use education and community-awareness programs and other approaches that are not necessarily regulatory in character.

In the case of tobacco products, the threats posed to human health are direct, and action is usually aimed at reducing consumption of tobacco products to the greatest extent possible. As mentioned in Chapter 1, tobacco control relies on five complementary strategies: (1) demand reduction, (2) provision of information to consumers, (3) supply reduction, (4) reduction of exposure to tobacco smoke, and (5) minimization of the harm caused by individual tobacco products. These strategies are reflected in various provisions of the FCTC, including Article 6 (price and tax measures to reduce demand for tobacco), Article 8 (protection from exposure to tobacco smoke), Article 9 (regulation of the contents of tobacco products), Article 10 (regulation of tobacco-products disclosures), Article 11 (packaging and labeling of tobacco products), Article 12 (education, communication, training, and public awareness), Article 13 (tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship), Article 14 (demand-reduction measures concerning tobacco dependence and cessation), and Article 15 (illicit trade in tobacco products).