Disposable ecigs expose users to much higher levels of toxic metals than earlier generations of ecigs or cigarettes

Mark Salazar, and his colleagues at UC Davis new paper “Elevated Toxic Element Emissions from Popular Disposable E‑Cigarettes: Sources, Life Cycle, and Health Risks” provides a comprehensive analysis that shows that how popular disposable e-cigarettes (Esco Bar, Flum Pebble, and ELF Bar) expose users to levels of toxic metals that are orders of magnitude higherContinue reading “Disposable ecigs expose users to much higher levels of toxic metals than earlier generations of ecigs or cigarettes”

Cass Wheeler, former CEO of American Heart Association and a wonderful mentor, died

I was saddened to learn that on June 20, 2025, Cass Wheeler died, just short of his 85th birthday. Cass spent 35 years at the American Heart Association, serving as CEO from 1998 through 2008. I don’t remember when or how I first met Cass, but he became an important ally and mentor. As theContinue reading “Cass Wheeler, former CEO of American Heart Association and a wonderful mentor, died”

Global Action to End Smoking (formerly Foundation for a Smoke Free World) lays off CEO Cliff Douglas

In October 2023 Philip Morris International’s Foundation for a Smoke Free World hired Cliff Douglas as its new CEO (Wikipedia entry). FSFW was the latest in a long string of “third party” organizations created and funded by the tobacco industry to support its political needs, in this case to promote what the industry calls “smokeContinue reading “Global Action to End Smoking (formerly Foundation for a Smoke Free World) lays off CEO Cliff Douglas”

E-cigarette use during pregnancy increases risk for material and newborn problems

At a time when England is still encouraging pregnant women who smoke to switch to e-cigarettes, the evidence that e-cigarettes complicate pregnancy continues to grow. The recent meta-analysis “Associations between vaping during pregnancy and perinatal outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis” pooled the results of 25 studies published as of July 2024 and found aboutContinue reading “E-cigarette use during pregnancy increases risk for material and newborn problems”

Cannabis use linked to doubling in risk of cardiovascular disease death

Wilhelm Storck and colleagues new paper “Cardiovascular risk associated with the use of cannabis and cannabinoids: a systematic review and meta- analysis” published in Heart adds to the case that, far from being safe, cannabis use poses substantial risks. In an accompanying editorial, “It is time to treat cannabis as an important risk factor forContinue reading “Cannabis use linked to doubling in risk of cardiovascular disease death”

ABC Day One story on tobacco industry documents available here

I just found a video of the first national TV story about the Brown and Williamson documents I received on May 12, 1994. This ABC Day One story produced by Walt Bogdanich, ran on May 19, 1994: While I appear in the story, ABC did not identify me as the source. I wanted enough timeContinue reading “ABC Day One story on tobacco industry documents available here”

“This is not the first time a sale of CBS caused problems for 60 Minutes” updated

I just posted an updated version of my April 29, 2025 blog post “This is not the first time a sale of CBS caused problems for 60 Minutes” that now includes all the relevant videos, including the original 60 Minutes story that disclosed that network management was blocking the Jeff Wigand interview, Mike Wallace’s on-air comment,Continue reading ““This is not the first time a sale of CBS caused problems for 60 Minutes” updated”

Smoked and edible cannabis both inhibit normal blood vessel function in people

Our earlier epidemiology study linked cannabis use to cardiovascular disease in people. Because most people smoked cannabis in US population at the time, we could not distinguish the effects of inhaled cannabis from other forms of consumption, particularly edibles. Leila Mohammadi and her UCSF colleagues new paper “Association of Endothelial Dysfunction With Chronic Marijuana SmokingContinue reading “Smoked and edible cannabis both inhibit normal blood vessel function in people”

20 state attorneys general sue to block HHS cuts

Today (May 5, 2025) 20 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit to reverse President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr’s devastating cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services. The suit details the broad damage that the cuts are doing, with and emphasis on the states and, in many cases, the specificContinue reading “20 state attorneys general sue to block HHS cuts”

What will happen to CDC’s successful Tips from Former Smokers media campaign and 1-800-QUITNOW service?

In addition to the National Youth Tobacco Survey and other national surveys, the now-shuttered CDC Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) provided technical support and $82 million to support state health departments (zeroed out on April 26, 2025), provided through the National Tobacco Control Program, and prepared dozens of Surgeon General’s reports on smoking andContinue reading “What will happen to CDC’s successful Tips from Former Smokers media campaign and 1-800-QUITNOW service?”