FDA & NIH must support research to increase tobacco cessation reach and engagement to address populations disproportionately harmed by Big Tobacco

My colleagues and I submitted this public commento to FDA and NIH regarding their priorities for tobacco cessatio research. The Regulations.gov tracking number is m3p-2qiq-zm6w. A PDF version is available here. While it was not publicly available when we were preparing this comment, a lot of the suggestions overlap or complement the recently-released Surgeon GeneralContinue reading “FDA & NIH must support research to increase tobacco cessation reach and engagement to address populations disproportionately harmed by Big Tobacco”

Calif updates state ban on sales of flavored tobacco products to close loophole and strengthen enforcement: A great model for others

When California passed its law prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products in 2020, including menthol cigarettes, RJR and other tobacco interests forced a referendum to try and block the law. Voters upheld the law in 2022, and it went into effect. This law prohibited retail sales of tobacco products with a “characterizing flavor,” looselyContinue reading “Calif updates state ban on sales of flavored tobacco products to close loophole and strengthen enforcement: A great model for others”

Register for free UCSF indusry documents workshop Oct 8

Registration is now open for the UCSF Annual Tobacco and Other Industry Documents Workshop. The workshop, which is a joint project of UCSF’s Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education and the UCSF Library will again be held virtually on October 8th from 9am-12:15pm Pacific Time. Participants will gain comprehensive knowledge of UCSF’s Industry DocumentsContinue reading “Register for free UCSF indusry documents workshop Oct 8”

Wide-ranging podcast with ProfGlantz

Douglas County Oregon Public Health recently released an hour long interview Mitchell Kilkenny conducted with me covering everything from how I got involved with tobacco control through secondhand smoke’s effects to our recent research showing that for for many diseases e-cigarettes have indistinguishable risks to smoking, why the tobacco free generation” is a bad idea,Continue reading “Wide-ranging podcast with ProfGlantz”

Tobacco companies use subliminal menthol to achieve the same goals as menthol as a characterizing flavor. Regulators should prohibit all menthol, not just as a characterizing flavor.

While most countries, including the US FDA, regulate menthol as a “characterizing flavor” — at levels that impart a discernible taste — previously secret tobacco industry documents show that tobacco companies have long used menthol at subliminal levels — below levels that impart a discernible taste — to reduce smoke harshness, reduce dryness, increase smokeContinue reading “Tobacco companies use subliminal menthol to achieve the same goals as menthol as a characterizing flavor. Regulators should prohibit all menthol, not just as a characterizing flavor.”

Biden follows Obama and Trump by caving to industry pressure to delay menthol ban

Last week the Biden White House announced it was delaying a decision on the FDA’s well-reasoned product standards that would end the use of menthol in cigarettes and cigars, sparking outrage from leaders in the African American community: The White House is ignoring the real human cost of delay. Based on the Biden FDA’s analysis, everyContinue reading “Biden follows Obama and Trump by caving to industry pressure to delay menthol ban”

FDA (and others) should integrate the relationship between cannabis and tobacco use

My UCSF colleagues and I submitted a public comment to the FDA Center for Tobacco Products regarding its upcoming strategic plan urging FDA to more strongly integrate the crossover between tobacco and cannabis use into its planning. While FDA does not (yet) have jurisdiction over cannabis, there is no question that growing cannabis use hasContinue reading “FDA (and others) should integrate the relationship between cannabis and tobacco use”

UC publishes oral history of Stanton Glantz: Putting Cardiovascular, Epidemiological, Economic, Political, and Policy Research into Action at UC San Francisco and Beyond

Today the Oral History Center at the University of California Bancroft Library published an oral history of my career, which is freely available to all. Beginning in elementary school in Cleveland, Ohio, the history follows me through college and gradual school.  It discusses my work to develop the emergency protocols for the Apollo 5 missionContinue reading “UC publishes oral history of Stanton Glantz: Putting Cardiovascular, Epidemiological, Economic, Political, and Policy Research into Action at UC San Francisco and Beyond”

Ecig regulations associated with less use by kids in EU

Governments are increasingly responding to the rapid growth of youth e-cigarette use with policies that restrict use and marketing of e-cigarettes. Hanna Ollila and colleagues’ new paper, “Exclusive and dual use of electronic cigarettes among European youth in 32 countries with different regulatory landscapes” shows, based on 2019 data, that stronger regulation of e-cigarettes isContinue reading “Ecig regulations associated with less use by kids in EU”

Comprehensive bans on sale of flavored tobacco products associated with less use of flavored tobacco without increasing nonflavored tobacco

More and more states and localities are enacting bans or restrictions on the sale of flavored tobacco products. David Timberlake and colleague recently published “Variation in adults’ use of flavored tobacco products by sales restrictions in California jurisdictions” that uses data collected in California in 2019-2020 to show that comprehensive flavor sales bans are associatedContinue reading “Comprehensive bans on sale of flavored tobacco products associated with less use of flavored tobacco without increasing nonflavored tobacco”