In the face of a major push by the tobacco companies and their allies to trick Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to integrate the industry’s “harm reduction” marketing message into FCTC guidelines, the WHO has issued a position paper on harm reduction (below). The WHO’s bottom line: “When it comesContinue reading “WHO position on Tobacco Control and Harm Reduction”
Category Archives: health
Juul’s Connection to ‘Independent’ Expert Farsalinos Revealed
Greek cardiologist Konstantinos Farsalinos has been one of the e-cigarette industry’s most consistent supporters. Despite his behavior having all the hallmarks of undisclosed industry ties, until now no one was able to prove it. Now, using the Juul documents in the UCSF Industry documents library, investigators from The Examination, Le Monde (in English, in French)Continue reading “Juul’s Connection to ‘Independent’ Expert Farsalinos Revealed”
E-cigarettes increase harm to smokers, so should not be promoted as a harm reduction strategy (in 10 slides)
The tobacco industry has used claims of reduced harm to sell its products since the 1950s with its efforts to promote “safe cigarettes.” “Harm reduction” claims have been central to marketing of e-cigarettes since they were commercialized in 2003. The tobacco industry and its allies continue to use claims of reduced harm to argue againstContinue reading “E-cigarettes increase harm to smokers, so should not be promoted as a harm reduction strategy (in 10 slides)”
Ecig enthusiasts acting more and more like tobacco and global warming deniers
Reflecting on the problems with the paper E-Cigarettes in Historical Context—Innovation, Risk, and Regulation by Michael Pesko, Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Rachel Fung and Neal Benowitz reminded me that, as the evidence continues to pile up that e-cigarettes increase harm for both adults and youth, e-cigarette enthusiasts are moving beyond legitimate scientific differences of opinion and actingContinue reading “Ecig enthusiasts acting more and more like tobacco and global warming deniers”
New Pesko et al paper supporting e-cigs ignores current science
Several people have asked me what I thought of the just-published paper E-Cigarettes in Historical Context—Innovation, Risk, and Regulation by Michael Pesko, Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Rachel Fung and Neal Benowitz. Like other similar papers published by some of these people, the Pesko paper relies on the 7 year old 2018 National Academies of Science, Engineering andContinue reading “New Pesko et al paper supporting e-cigs ignores current science”
International Pediatric Association publishes position paper concluding that “e-cigarettes are not an effective harm reduction strategy for adults and pose a serious risk to nicotine naïve youth”
On October 10, 2025, the International Pediatric Association (IPA) published a landmark position paper, “E-Cigarettes and the Nicotine Epidemic: Statement From the International Pediatric Association,” in Pediatrics, the international peer-reviewed journal published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The paper concluded, “In contrast to early hopes and assumptions, e-cigarettes are not an effective harm reductionContinue reading “International Pediatric Association publishes position paper concluding that “e-cigarettes are not an effective harm reduction strategy for adults and pose a serious risk to nicotine naïve youth””
FDA’s product standard setting a maximum level of nicotine should be expanded to all tobacco products including e-cigs and nicotine pouches
My colleagues at UCSF and Stanford and I have submitted this public comment to the FDA on its prposed nicotine standard urging that the standard be extended to all tobacco products (PDF). The regulations.gov Comment Tracking Number: mfj-v5cz-15yf. The scope of FDA’s proposed tobacco product standard setting a maximum level of nicotine in tobacco productsContinue reading “FDA’s product standard setting a maximum level of nicotine should be expanded to all tobacco products including e-cigs and nicotine pouches”
FDA setting a maximum level of nicotine in tobacco products without exceptions for HTP and waterpipe will improve health
My colleagues at UCSF and Stanford and I have submitted this public comment to the FDA supporting a product standard limiting nicotine in tobacco products and opposing exceptions for heated tobacco products and waterpipe (PDF). The Comment Tracking Number in regulations.gov is mfj-vc5x-sbgb .FDA’s proposed tobacco product standard setting a maximum level of nicotine inContinue reading “FDA setting a maximum level of nicotine in tobacco products without exceptions for HTP and waterpipe will improve health”
Archived copy of Tobaccoscam website and ads on smokefree hospitality is available
In 2002 I developed an educational campaign called Tobacco Scam designed to counter tobacco industry propaganda directed at restaurants and to expose the industry’s cooptation of the state and national restaurant associations. It was called “Tobacco Scam” because it highlighted how the tobacco companies were scamming restaurants and bars into opposing smokefree laws based onContinue reading “Archived copy of Tobaccoscam website and ads on smokefree hospitality is available”
Inhaled cannabis associated with increased risk of asthma and COPD independent of tobacco smoking
Answering the question of whether inhaling cannabis increases the risks of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been complicated by the fact that in the past almost all cannabis smokers also smoked tobacco, so it was difficult to determine whether the observed associations between smoking cannabis and these diseases was really due toContinue reading “Inhaled cannabis associated with increased risk of asthma and COPD independent of tobacco smoking”
Stanton Glantz blog 