Jeffrey Smith

Jeff Smith is a senior fellow for the R Street Institute, where he explores tobacco control and harm reduction from the perspective of clarifying the risks associated with the use of combustible products and the potential of reduced-risk nicotine products to ameliorate disease and death related to smoking. Before joining R Street’s Healthier Communities team, Jeff was a principal scientist in the science and regulatory affairs group at Reynolds American Inc. There, he developed and implemented research procedures to evaluate reduced-risk products—including a novel technique to measure how individuals use electronic nicotine delivery systems—and explored opportunities for potential new product categories beyond nicotine. During a 20-year career in academia, Jeff served as endowed chair of health sciences at Saginaw Valley State University and held professorships at universities in Oregon and Ohio. He published widely in neuroplasticity literature, mentored countless undergraduates, held multiple leadership positions and taught a variety of courses in the behavioral and neurosciences. Jeff holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology from Georgia College and State University and a doctorate in behavioral neuroscience from Emory University. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with his wife and three lovely cats.