In April 2025, as part of its attack on the federal government’s tobacco control efforts, the Trump Administration pulled the plug on data collection for the 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), a large national survey of middle and high school tobacco use the CDC — later joined by the FDA — had been runningContinue reading “2025 NYTS highlights problems with FDA’s permissive policy toward e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches”
Category Archives: smoking
Switching from cigs to ecigs does not significantly reduce lung cancer risk
Yeon Wook Kim and colleagues’ new paper “Electronic cigarette use after smokingcessation and lung cancer risk” shows that smokers who switch to e-cigarettes have about a 50% higher risk of developing lung cancer and about a doubling of risk of dying from lung cancer than smokers who just stop smoking. Most important, this paper isContinue reading “Switching from cigs to ecigs does not significantly reduce lung cancer risk”
FDA should drop its draft guidance to allow some sales of flavored e-cigs because it ignores evidence that harm to youth outweighs theoretical benefits to adults
My colleagues and I just submitted this public comment to FDA opposing its proposal to allow sales of flavored e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) on the grounds that benefits to adults would outweigh harms to kids. It also presents evidence that two-way communication between ENDS and external agencies (that could include ENDSContinue reading “FDA should drop its draft guidance to allow some sales of flavored e-cigs because it ignores evidence that harm to youth outweighs theoretical benefits to adults”
I surprised Michael Smerconsih when he interviewed me about UK generational smoking ban
On April 23, 2026, Michael Smerconsih interviewed me about the UK Generational Smoking ban. I surprised him by arguing that generational smoking bans are bad public policy because they divert resources from more effective tobacco control policies that had faster public health benefits. I am also skeptical that they will be maintained in the longContinue reading “I surprised Michael Smerconsih when he interviewed me about UK generational smoking ban”
Nicotine pouches maintain the nicotine market for tobacco companies
Nicotine pouches (like ZYN and on!) are being touted by some advocates as a “harm reduction” alternative to smoking cigarettes. Kelvin Choi and colleagues examined whether this happens in real life in their new paper “Patterns of tobacco product use among US adults who use nicotine pouches and the association between nicotine pouch use andContinue reading “Nicotine pouches maintain the nicotine market for tobacco companies”
FDA releases 2025 NYTS data without any analysis; Altria and Rutgers (separately) provide summary results
In April 2025, the Trump Administration shuttered the CDC Office on Smoking and Health and stopped collecting data for the 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Later, the Administration announced it was restoring the NYTS and transferring is administration to the FDA Center For Tobacco Products, which had been partnering with CDC since 2021. On MarchContinue reading “FDA releases 2025 NYTS data without any analysis; Altria and Rutgers (separately) provide summary results”
California’s “Unflavored Tobacco List” will improve compliance with and enforcement of flavored tobacco ban
Last year California passed AB 3218 to tighten up and simplify compliance with and enforcement of California’s ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products. Part of this was to have the Attorney General establish and maintain an Unflavored Tobacco List (UTL) that included those tobacco products that could be sold legally in California. toContinue reading “California’s “Unflavored Tobacco List” will improve compliance with and enforcement of flavored tobacco ban”
E-cigarettes are nearly as risky as cigarettes; dual use is worse: The evidence continues to pile up
Using e-cigarettes (vaping) has been promoted as a much safer alternative to smoking cigarettes. However, a new head-to-head comparison of actual disease in e-cigarette users compared to cigarette smokers published in Public Health Reports shows that this assertion is wrong. This new analysis of 124 studies on the association of e-cigarette use with disease outcomesContinue reading “E-cigarettes are nearly as risky as cigarettes; dual use is worse: The evidence continues to pile up”
What the BAT chief scientist had to say about causality half a century ago
E-cigarette advocates, global warming deniers and social media companies continue to sidestep the implications of research showing dangers of their products by, among other things, retreating behind the high walls of claims that the evidence is not “causal.” To put these claims in context, it is worth re-reading the last couple paragraphs from our bookContinue reading “What the BAT chief scientist had to say about causality half a century ago”
Congress revives CDC Office on Smoking and Health
Last year the Trump Administration eliminated the CDC Office on Smoking and Health and fired the FDA Center for Tobacco Products leadership, paving the way for FDA to even more closely embrace the tobacco industry’s “harm reduction” marketing messages. OSH ran the effective “Tips from Former Smokers” advertising campaign, supports state health department tobacco controlContinue reading “Congress revives CDC Office on Smoking and Health”
Stanton Glantz blog 