On May 31, 2023, I delivered an invited lecture to the Associação Brasileira de Estudos do Álcool e outras Drogas (Brazilian Association for the Study of Alcohol and Other Drugs) entitled “E-cigarettes: Harm enhancement and protection of global tobacco interests.” As the title indicates it is a comprehensive review of the current state of knowledgeContinue reading “Watch “E-cigarettes: Harm enhancement and protection of global tobacco interests””
Category Archives: lung disease
Switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes does not reduce respiratory symptoms
Jonathan Berlowitz and colleagues’ new paper Cigarette‒E-cigarette Transitions and Respiratory Symptom Development adds to the already strong case that e-cigarette use increases the risk of respiratory symptoms and that dual use (using e-cigarettes while smoking cigarettes) is more dangerous than using either product alone. Most important, switching from cigarettes only to e-cigarettes only did notContinue reading “Switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes does not reduce respiratory symptoms”
Even a little smoking is bad: Implications for harm reduction
I just came on two important papers — Association of Long-term, Low-Intensity Smoking With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study and Association between long-term low-intensity cigarette smoking and incidence of smoking-related cancer in the National Institutes of Health-AARP cohort by Maki Inoue Choi and her colleagues atContinue reading “Even a little smoking is bad: Implications for harm reduction”
Compromised blood vessel function caused by cigarettes and e-cigarettes is mediated by lung irritation
Cigarettes and e-cigarettes deliver the addictive drug nicotine to the lungs where it is absorbed and rapidly delivered to the brain. The holy grail of the idea that e-cigarettes are a form of harm reduction is that the e-cigarette aerosol has fewer specific bad chemicals than cigarette smoke. New research from Pooneh Nabavizadeh and colleaguesContinue reading “Compromised blood vessel function caused by cigarettes and e-cigarettes is mediated by lung irritation”
FDA proposed updating its HPHC list in 2019; it needs to finish the job
One of the nerdy, but very important, parts of the FDA tobacco product regulatory process is the list of “Hazardous and Potentially Hazardous Compounds” (HPHC) list that FDA released in 2012. This list contains 93 bad chemicals — mostly carcinogens — that FDA identified as important when assessing the risks of tobacco products. It hasContinue reading “FDA proposed updating its HPHC list in 2019; it needs to finish the job”
E-cig science has marched on; it is important that decision making and education be based on the current state of knowledge
In January 2021, I published a blog post making the point that the 2018 National Academy of Science Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) report on e-cigarettes was out of date. Now, Physicians for a Smoke Free Canada has published an extensive update detailing specifically how the science on e-cigarettes has advanced since then 2018, noting thatContinue reading “E-cig science has marched on; it is important that decision making and education be based on the current state of knowledge”
Science FDA (and everyone else) needs to actively engage as they think about whether to authorize Juul and the other ecigs
When I read the FDA’s Technical Project Lead summary of its scientific justification for authorizing the sale of RJ Reynolds’ Vuse Solo e-cigarette, I was struck by the fact that it ignored the broad scientific literature on e-cigarettes and seemed to accept industry-framed arguments. For example: They ignored the evidence that as consumer products, e-cigarettesContinue reading “Science FDA (and everyone else) needs to actively engage as they think about whether to authorize Juul and the other ecigs”
E-cigs have been on the market for 15 years: If they were really reducing harm it would be obvious by now
Ever since e-cigarettes first came on the market in 2006 the argument has been that it will take time for their health benefits to be manifest. This view was restated again last month in an FDA press release that stated, “Companies who want to continue to market their flavored ENDS products must have robust andContinue reading “E-cigs have been on the market for 15 years: If they were really reducing harm it would be obvious by now”
IQOS emissions create risks of immunosuppression and pulmonary toxicity and the supplemental modified risk tobacco product application for IQOS 3 does not address new published research on these risks, so FDA should not issue an exposure modification MRTP order for IQOS 3
My colleagues and I at the UCSF TCORS submitted this public comment to the FDA. The Regulations.gov tracking number is kt4-u9mw-wc65. A PDF version is available here. IQOS emissions create risks of immunosuppression and pulmonary toxicity and the supplemental modified risk tobacco product application for IQOS 3 does not address new published research on theseContinue reading “IQOS emissions create risks of immunosuppression and pulmonary toxicity and the supplemental modified risk tobacco product application for IQOS 3 does not address new published research on these risks, so FDA should not issue an exposure modification MRTP order for IQOS 3”
New WHO report highlights falling cigarette use and challenges that new tobacco products pose to public health and implementation of the FCTC
On July 27, 2021 the WHO released the WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2021: addressing new and emerging products, its eighth such report. The good news is that it documents solid progress in reducing tobacco use. After over a century of growth, “between 2007 and 2019, smoking rates decreased from a global averageContinue reading “New WHO report highlights falling cigarette use and challenges that new tobacco products pose to public health and implementation of the FCTC”
Stanton Glantz blog 