In the last few years the idea of a free generation in which tobacco sales would be prohibited to all people born after a certain date has gained some traction. Ever since the idea was first proposed by some Singapore researchers in 2010, I have thought it was a bad idea. Other than declining toContinue reading “Tobacco free generation is a bad idea that should be abandoned”
Category Archives: menthol
Smoking gun document ties Al Sharpton to Juul, efforts to protect menthol cigs
Fenit Nirappil’s comprehensive Washington Post story How Black activists became defenders of Big Tobacco (June 21, 2024) includes the 2018 smoking gun document linking Al Sharpton the African American leader who played a key role in convincing Biden to pull FDA regulations ending menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, as well as other African American andContinue reading “Smoking gun document ties Al Sharpton to Juul, efforts to protect menthol cigs”
FDA did the right thing when it withdrew its 2022 Juul marketing denial order; it should finish the job quickly by prohibiting Juul on solid grounds
On June 6, 2024, two years after the FDA issued, then suspended its Marketing Denial Order for Juul e-cigarettes based on narrow toxicology issues, FDA formally withdrew the MDO. This does not mean that the FDA has authorized Juul for sale in the US, it just lets FDA start over in its assessment of whetherContinue reading “FDA did the right thing when it withdrew its 2022 Juul marketing denial order; it should finish the job quickly by prohibiting Juul on solid grounds”
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.”
Over 1 million previously secret Juul documents now available, with more to come
The UCSF Industry Documents Library released another 519,000 new Juul Labs documents, bringing the total number of documents to 1,053,233. This is about one-quarter of the complete collection of more than 4 million documents. Check out the Juul documents here.
Banning menthol leads a quarter of menthol smokers to quit
The two justifications for the FDA’s proposed product standard prohibiting menthol cigarettes and cigars are (1) it will reduce youth initiation, and (2) it will help menthol smokers to quit. Now Sarah Mills and colleagues have published a review and meta-analysis of the effects of menthol bans around the world, The Impact of Menthol CigaretteContinue reading “Banning menthol leads a quarter of menthol smokers to quit”
WHO issues important call to action on ecigs
The World Health Organization has released a call to action and supporting technical note that provides detailed guidance for countries on how to battle the e-cigarette epidemic. The WHO both supports countries who have prohibited the import and sale of e-cigarettes and provides detailed evidence-based guidance for those who allow sale of e-cigarettes. The Biden WhiteContinue reading “WHO issues important call to action on ecigs”
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”
Synthetic cooling agents make e-cigarettes more attractive and easier to inhale
Sales of “ice” e-cigarettes have been increasing rapidly, with US sales growing by more than 10 times from 2017 to 2021. In 2023 57.9% of US youth used ice e-cigarettes, often combined with other flavors (such as strawberry ice, frosted mint or tobacco ice). Ice e-cigarettes are being marketed around the world. The cooling effectContinue reading “Synthetic cooling agents make e-cigarettes more attractive and easier to inhale”
New national data shows kids using “ice” tobacco products; FDA needs to include them in pending menthol product standards
Last week the CDC and FDA published the 2023 statistics on youth tobacco use from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (FDA press release). The good news is that high school student overall tobacco use is down significantly compared to 2022 (from 16.5% to 12.6%), driven in large part by a drop in e-cigarette use (fromContinue reading “New national data shows kids using “ice” tobacco products; FDA needs to include them in pending menthol product standards”
Stanton Glantz blog 