Giorgi Mzhavanadze

A health economist, public health researcher, and PhD candidate in economics at Tbilisi State University in Georgia.

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About

Giorgi Mzhavanadze is a health economist, public health researcher, and PhD candidate in economics at Tbilisi State University in Georgia. His research focuses on health economics, tobacco control, tobacco harm reduction, and the economic and behavioral determinants of health.

His work combines applied econometrics, discrete choice experiments, and quantitative policy analysis to examine tobacco and nicotine use, risk perceptions, smoking cessation, taxation, and regulatory interventions. He has contributed to peer-reviewed scientific research and international policy reports, with a particular focus on Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

His research is listed on ORCID, and he has written about the implementation gap in smoking cessation for Healthcare Business Today.

Latest articles

Meds

Does nicotine cause cancer? What clinicians should say

Giorgi Mzhavanadze

October 13, 2026Oct 13, 2026

A patient considering a nicotine patch asks, "Doesn't nicotine cause lung cancer?" A reassuring answer should not minimize nicotine's risks. It should explain why a nicotine patch and a cigarette are not medically equivalent. Our survey in Ukraine suggests that…

A patient considering a nicotine patch asks, “Doesn’t nicotine cause lung cancer?” A reassuring answer should not minimize nicotine’s risks. It should explain why a nicotine patch and a cigarette are not medically equivalent.

Our survey in Ukraine suggests that this distinction warrants attention. Healthy Initiatives collected 1,538 responses to a questionnaire targeting health care professionals between October 2025 and September 2026. Asked to identify the most harmful components of smoking, …