On April 28, 2022, FDA released its proposed tobacco product standard prohibiting menthol cigarettes. The justification for prohibiting menthol as a characterizing flavor includes a comprehensive review of the effects of menthol on smoking, including why menthol promotes cigarette initiation and how it makes it harder to quit smoking. In addition to summarizing the behavioralContinue reading “FDA proposed menthol ban in cigarettes is well done, except for the exceptions”
Category Archives: smoking
APHA rapidly remedies error it made when accepting FSFW ad for AJPH
When I checked my email last Friday morning (April 15, 2022), I found a robust email conversation about the fact that the American Journal of Public Health, published by the American Public Health Association, featured an add from Philip Morris International’s Foundation for a Smokefree World soliciting grant proposals (examples above and below). The FSFWContinue reading “APHA rapidly remedies error it made when accepting FSFW ad for AJPH”
Ecigs roll back the clock on kid quitting, too
E-cigarettes have reversed the long-term trend of declining nicotine addiction among kids. Now Richard Miech and his colleagues at USC have used the Monitoring the Future survey data on tobacco use behavior among 8th to 12th graders to study the prevalence of failed quit attempts for cigarettes (from 1997 through 2020) and e-cigarettes (for 2020,Continue reading “Ecigs roll back the clock on kid quitting, too”
Smokers at higher risk of COVID-19 death, particularly in low and middle income countries
Roengrudee Patanavanich, Tanatorn Siripoon, Salin Amponnavarat and I just published “Active smokers are at higher risk of COVID-19 death: A systematic review and meta-analysis” that finds that, among people diagnosed with COVID-19 both current and former smokers are at increased risk of death from COVID-19. This paper takes advantage of the growing number of studiesContinue reading “Smokers at higher risk of COVID-19 death, particularly in low and middle income countries”
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”
Higher nicotine content and flavors increase e-cig abuse liability
As debates over nicotine and flavors in e-cigarettes continues to heat up, Mari Gades, Aleksandra Alcheva, Amy Riegelman, and Dorothy Hatsukami just published “The role of nicotine and flavor in the abuse potential and appeal of electronic cigarettes for adult current and former cigarette and electronic cigarette users: A systematic review” in Nicotine and TobaccoContinue reading “Higher nicotine content and flavors increase e-cig abuse liability”
Study claiming SF flavor ban increased youth smoking dissolves; it is not based on any data collected after enforcing the ban
The research letter, “A Difference-in-Differences Analysis of Youth Smoking and a Ban on Sales of Flavored Tobacco Products in San Francisco, California” Abigail Friedman published in JAMA Pediatrics in May 2021 concluded that “San Francisco’s ban on flavored tobacco product sales was associated with increased smoking among minor high school students relative to other schoolContinue reading “Study claiming SF flavor ban increased youth smoking dissolves; it is not based on any data collected after enforcing the ban”
Tobacco control policies are “softening” smokers
The desire to reach “hard core” smokers, typically characterized as smokers who “cannot or will not quit,” is one of the core justifications for e-cigarettes and other new alternative tobacco products are part of the industry’s “harm reduction” agenda. Now Miranda Harris and her Australian colleagues have produced a systematic review debunking the hardening hypothesisContinue reading “Tobacco control policies are “softening” smokers”
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”
AT&T makes Colin Farrell’s Penguin in The Batman smokefree
GeekTyrant reported that Colin Farrell’s Penguin in the new The Batman film being released by AT&T‘s Warner Bros. will be smokefree. Farrell’ wanted Penguin to smoke, but AT&T said “no.” Farrell’s view: “Big studios make big decisions around such things as the presence of cigarettes in films. I fought valiantly for a cigar. At oneContinue reading “AT&T makes Colin Farrell’s Penguin in The Batman smokefree”
Stanton Glantz blog 