RJR tries to slither around CA ban on sale of flavored tobacco products with Newport, too

RJ Reynolds, BAT’s US subsidiary, has released its third effort to keep selling flavored cigarettes with its new Newport cigarettes that offer “bold lasting flavor” now that it can’t sell menthol cigarettes. The problem with what Reynolds is doing is that the law prohibits the sale of flavored tobacco products, not just menthol flavored tobaccoContinue reading “RJR tries to slither around CA ban on sale of flavored tobacco products with Newport, too”

AG needs to stop Kool’s latest transparent attempt to flout California’s ban on the sale of flavored tobacco

After Big Tobacco was crushed at the ballot box and rebuffed by the Supreme Court, ITG Brands, a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco, is trying to slither around California’s prohibition on the sale of flavored tobacco products.  Like RJ Reynolds’ new Camel “ice” cigarettes, ITG is now promoting “Non-menthol Kool” only in California (screenshot of theirContinue reading “AG needs to stop Kool’s latest transparent attempt to flout California’s ban on the sale of flavored tobacco”

FDA should build on its menthol e-cig decision to implement Reagan-Udall recommendation to triage assessment of new tobacco products

The Reagan-Udall Foundation report on FDA Center for Tobacco Products procedures is now available. It contains recommendations for improving FDA CTP operations, but recognizes that two of the serious impediments that the CTP faces are the huge number of applications for new products and aggressive litigation by the industry. Several recommendations deal with improving transparencyContinue reading “FDA should build on its menthol e-cig decision to implement Reagan-Udall recommendation to triage assessment of new tobacco products”

A big step forward: FDA’s assessment of individual menthol e-cigs lines up with the scientific evidence

Two important memos dated October 25, 2022 detail internal FDA deliberations about how FDA considers specific menthol e-cigarettes in the context of the larger scientific literature on menthol.  The two memos, one from the leadership of the Office of Science and another from Center for Tobacco Products Director Brian King and Deputy Director Michelle MitalContinue reading “A big step forward: FDA’s assessment of individual menthol e-cigs lines up with the scientific evidence”

E-cig advocates criticize CDC for promoting health misinformation with their own misinformation

E-cigarette advocates Michael Pesko, Michael Cummings, Clifford Douglas, Jonathan Foulds, Thomas Miller, Nancy Rigotti, and Kenneth E. Warner recently published an editorial “United States public health officials need to correct e-cigarette health misinformation” criticizing the CDC for promoting what they claim is misinformation on e-cigarettes at the same time CDC was highlighting the dangers of health misinformation. They “focus upon twoContinue reading “E-cig advocates criticize CDC for promoting health misinformation with their own misinformation”

Big Tobacco Execs Celebrate Teen Vaping With Epic PR Song

The Onion, working with truth, produced “Inspiring! Big Tobacco Execs Celebrate Teen Vaping With Epic PR Song.” Watch this fun video here. This is part of a digital media buy in which the Onion offers Truth Initiative the opportunity to co-create a creative asset that helps deliver truth’s message in the Onion’s signature satirical style.

California ban on sale of flavored tobacco products goes into effect after Supreme Court rejects RJR attempt to block it

As expected (at least by me) the Supreme Court refused to consider RJR and other tobacco companies’ argument that California’s ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products was illegal. The law will take effect December 21, 2022. The actual order is above. The California Department of Public Health has done a great job ofContinue reading “California ban on sale of flavored tobacco products goes into effect after Supreme Court rejects RJR attempt to block it”

Big cigarette companies have to display “corrective statements” at point-of sale 16 years after a federal court ordered them to do it

On August 17, 2006, federal Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that tobacco companies violated racketeering laws, ruling, “As set forth in these Final Proposed Findings of Fact, substantial evidence establishes that Defendants have engaged in and executed – and continue to engage in and execute (emphasis added) – a massive 50-year scheme to defraud the public,Continue reading “Big cigarette companies have to display “corrective statements” at point-of sale 16 years after a federal court ordered them to do it”

Texas Trump judge grasps at straws to reject graphic warning labels on cigarette packs; now the appeals can start

After sitting on the case for years, federal Judge J. Campbell Barker, an active member of the right-wing Federalist Society, finally issued his opinion vacating (rescinding) the FDA’s graphic warning labels on cigarette packs that Congress mandated in 2009 when it passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. His decision rejecting the warningContinue reading “Texas Trump judge grasps at straws to reject graphic warning labels on cigarette packs; now the appeals can start”

772,876 more opioid industry internal documents released, this time on Insys’ fentanyl promotion

UCSF and Johns Hopkins have released another 772,876 internal industry documents in the Opioid Industry Documents Archive, bringing the total collection to over 2.3 million documents. These documents reveal how Insys Therapeutics promoted fentanyl by pushing on-label prescribing and paying doctors to promote their drug, laying the foundation for today’s fentanyl epidemic, including problems ofContinue reading “772,876 more opioid industry internal documents released, this time on Insys’ fentanyl promotion”