Last month Action on Smoking and Health released its 2023 US Tobacco Industry Interference Index, the latest in a series of reports that assesses tobacco industry interference in US policy making against international standards (press release). The new report finds a modest increase in already-high industry interference in the US and provides many specific examples.Continue reading “High tobacco industry influence increased in US in 2023, often working through third parties and front groups”
Author Archives: Stanton Glantz
Drop in smoking not correlated with increased youth vaping
E-cigarette advocates have often argued that the increase in youth e-cigarette use is not a problem because it represents youth shifting from cigarettes. Earlier work based on analysis of trends and risk profiles in youth participating in the National Youth Tobacco Survey has contradicted this assertion, showing that e-cigarettes were attracting youth at low riskContinue reading “Drop in smoking not correlated with increased youth vaping”
Astonishing: Health Canada makes it legal for flavoured nicotine products from Imperial Tobacco to be sold to children
The Health Ministry in Canada, which used to be a leader in tobacco control, has completely embraced the tobacco companies’ “harm reduction” agenda. It’s time for Prime Minister Trudeau to order them to put protecting health above standing aside for the tobacco companies to continue to expand their product lines. Unless the Canadian Government reversesContinue reading “Astonishing: Health Canada makes it legal for flavoured nicotine products from Imperial Tobacco to be sold to children”
Marijuana smokers have poorly functioning blood vessels like tobacco smokers
Leila Mohammadi, Matt Springer and their colleagues at UCSF presented a study at today’s (November 13, 2023) American Heart Association Annual Scientific Sessions showing that smoking marijuana compromises blood vessel function just like smoking tobacco cigarettes does. This result is not surprising because marijuana smoke is not that different from tobacco smoke. It is alsoContinue reading “Marijuana smokers have poorly functioning blood vessels like tobacco smokers “
Two new studies link marijuana with heart disease, including in non-tobacco smokers
Two papers are being presented today (November 13, 2023) at the American Heart Association Annual Scientific Sessions that show marijuana use is associated with increased cardiovascular disease. The first, Daily Marijuana Use is Associated With Incident Heart Failure: “All of Us” Research Program reports a 34% increased risk of incident heart failure in daily recreationalContinue reading “Two new studies link marijuana with heart disease, including in non-tobacco smokers”
New national data shows kids using “ice” tobacco products; FDA needs to include them in pending menthol product standards
Last week the CDC and FDA published the 2023 statistics on youth tobacco use from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (FDA press release). The good news is that high school student overall tobacco use is down significantly compared to 2022 (from 16.5% to 12.6%), driven in large part by a drop in e-cigarette use (fromContinue reading “New national data shows kids using “ice” tobacco products; FDA needs to include them in pending menthol product standards”
First longitudinal evidence linking e-cig use and death
Shauna Goldberg Scott and her colleagues recently published the first longitudinal evidence (where people are followed forward in time, the strongest kind of epidemiological study) showing that e-cigarette use was associated with increased risk of death. Their paper, Demographic, Clinical, and Behavioral Factors Associated With Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Use in a Large Cohort inContinue reading “First longitudinal evidence linking e-cig use and death”
Netflix documentary Big Vape is worth watching
Like Jamie Ducharme’s book Big Vape, the four hour (in four episodes) Netflix documentary Big Vape tracks Juul’s development from an idea by two Stanford grad students to compete with Big Tobacco by creating a less dangerous product to replace cigarettes into part of the tobacco industry. It does a particularity good job of highlightingContinue reading “Netflix documentary Big Vape is worth watching”
Regulations prohibiting import and sales of e-cigs work; Brazil and Thailand should keep them
Dozens of countries have issued regulations simply prohibiting the import and sale of e-cigarettes. These policies are under attack in Brazil and Thailand (again). Industry advocates argue that a better policy would be to legalize and regulate these products. The actual evidence tells a very different story. While policies prohibiting the import and sale ofContinue reading “Regulations prohibiting import and sales of e-cigs work; Brazil and Thailand should keep them”
Cigar flavor bans and retailer license fees reduce health disparities
Two new papers, The Effect of State and Local Flavored Cigar Sales Restrictions, on Retail Sales of Large Cigars, Cigarillos, and Little Cigars in Massachusetts, California, Illinois, and New York and The Association Between the License Fee Increase and The Density of Tobacco Retailers in California – A Segmented Interrupted Time Series Analysis by IncomeContinue reading “Cigar flavor bans and retailer license fees reduce health disparities”
Stanton Glantz blog 