The FDA continues to telegraph that it is going to authorize the sale of menthol e-cigarettes. The first strong indication was not acting on the Vuse Solo menthol PMTA, which has allowed RJ Reynolds to continue selling menthol Vuse side-by-side (screen capture below) with the authorized tobacco flavor. Now, the FDA press release announcing itsContinue reading “FDA sends another signal that it will authorize menthol ecigs despite high youth use”
Category Archives: menthol
Flavored tobacco sales bans reduce tobacco advertising: An added benefit
The evidence that comprehensive bans on the sale of flavored tobacco products work continues to grow. And the latest study by Louisa Holmes, Lauren Lempert and Pam Ling adds a new benefit: There is less tobacco product advertising in cities that have flavor bans. Their paper, Flavored Tobacco Sales Restrictions Reduce Tobacco Product Availability andContinue reading “Flavored tobacco sales bans reduce tobacco advertising: An added benefit”
Proposed FDA menthol rules sent to Biden OMB for approval before release for public comment
One February 24, 2022, the FDA submitted two proposed rules on menthol to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review before public release: “Tobacco Product Standard for Menthol in Cigarettes” and “Tobacco Product Standard for Characterizing Flavors in Cigars.” The OMB can approve the proposed rules as submitted, deny them, or approveContinue reading “Proposed FDA menthol rules sent to Biden OMB for approval before release for public comment”
Strong, but not weak, bans on the sale of flavored tobacco reduce availability of these products
The evidence that flavor bans substantially lower sales of menthol and other flavored tobacco products work continues to accumulate. Ralph Welwean and colleagues just published “Evaluating the Impact of Strong and Weak California Flavored Tobacco Sales Restriction Policies on the Tobacco Retail Environment” that, as the title indicates, evaluated the effectiveness of local laws prohibitingContinue reading “Strong, but not weak, bans on the sale of flavored tobacco reduce availability of these products”
MA, NY, RI and WA consistently saw big drops in sales after states banned sales of flavored e-cigs
More and more localities and states have stopped waiting for the FDA to get rid of flavored e-cigarettes, including menthol, and enacted local laws or policies ending the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. (Others, led by San Francisco, have banned the sale of all flavored tobacco products.) Fatma Ali and colleagues at the CDC Foundation, CDCContinue reading “MA, NY, RI and WA consistently saw big drops in sales after states banned sales of flavored e-cigs”
A wide range of e-cigarettes similarly harm artery function as much as cigarettes
The whole harm reduction and reduced exposure frameworks that the FDA and others use to assess alternative inhaled tobacco products assumes that the specific details of the aerosol that these products deliver to users has a substantial effect on risks. New research by Poonam Rao, Matt Springer, and their colleagues at UCSF raises serious questionsContinue reading “A wide range of e-cigarettes similarly harm artery function as much as cigarettes”
Industry easily adapts to FDA’s limited action on e-cig flavors
In response to skyrocketing youth e-cigarette use, driven largely by Juul removable pod flavored e-cigs, in January 2020, FDA said they would “prioritize enforcement” against most flavored pod e-cigs. Not surprisingly, youth and young adults have shifted to menthol and disposable flavored e-cigs that FDA is not prioritizing. Now Shivani Gaiha and her colleagues atContinue reading “Industry easily adapts to FDA’s limited action on e-cig flavors”
Health groups back in court pressing FDA to act on menthol and e-cig PMTA applications
Menthol Over the last year health groups have started suing the FDA in efforts to force action, particularly in the areas of menthol and evaluating e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products. As part of a political compromise, the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act banned characterizing flavors (but not the flavors themselves) exceptContinue reading “Health groups back in court pressing FDA to act on menthol and e-cig PMTA applications”
Menthol: Two wrongs won’t make a right
After refusing to authorize the sale of over a million e-cigarette flavors, the FDA still has not dealt with menthol (or tobacco flavored) e-cigarettes. As detailed in an earlier blog post, I remain concerned that FDA will authorize the sale of menthol e-cigarettes using the incorrect logic that menthol e-cigarettes need to remain available asContinue reading “Menthol: Two wrongs won’t make a right”
FDA denied over 1 million e-cig flavored products but not a single one with menthol
Despite the fact that menthol and mint are wildly popular with kids (and contribute to keeping adults addicted), the FDA Center for Tobacco Products has yet to prohibit the sale of a single menthol e-cigarette flavor. The CTP News sent out today reported: FDA Denies Marketing Applications for Over 1 Million Flavored E-Cigarette ProductsIn August,Continue reading “FDA denied over 1 million e-cig flavored products but not a single one with menthol”
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