Last week FDA took the important step of denying permission for Logic Technology to market is menthol e-cigarettes. In its press release, FDA specifically recognized the attraction of menthol e-cigarettes to youth: For non-tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes, including menthol-flavored e-cigarettes, existing evidence demonstrates a known and substantial risk with regard to youth appeal, uptake and use. RecentContinue reading “FDA pulls some menthol e-cigs off the market: What about the rest?”
Category Archives: smoking
New report explains menthol marketing from the beginning and why we need to end it
Robert Jackler and his colleagues at the Stanford Research Into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising recently released “ADVERTISING CREATED & CONTINUES TO DRIVE THE MENTHOL TOBACCO MARKET: Methods Used by The Industry to Target Youth, Women, & Black Americans,” an encyclopedic history of menthol marketing in the United States. Jackler and his colleagues complement aContinue reading “New report explains menthol marketing from the beginning and why we need to end it”
1.7 million more kids started smoking above historical trends after ecigs became widely used
Melissa Harrell and her colleagues just published important quantitative information adding to the case that e-cigs are promoting rather than replacing cigarette smoking among youth. Their new paper, “Impact of the e-cigarette era on cigarette smoking among youth in the United States: A population-level study,” estimates changes in youth smoking prevalence after 2014 when e-cigContinue reading “1.7 million more kids started smoking above historical trends after ecigs became widely used”
Thai kids who start with e-cigs more likely to go on to add cigs
Kade Patanavanich, Methavee Worawattanakul, and I just published “Longitudinal bidirectional association between youth electronic cigarette use and tobacco cigarette smoking initiation in Thailand” in Tobacco Control. This paper shows that in Thailand, as in richer countries, never-smoking youth who use e-cigarettes are more likely to become smokers than kids who don’t use e-cigarettes. (Kids whoContinue reading “Thai kids who start with e-cigs more likely to go on to add cigs”
Trump judge continues to delay cigarette warning labels by doing nothing
Last May a federal judge in Texas appointed by President Trump again delayed ruling on the tobacco companies’ lawsuit against the Congressionally-mandated warnings on cigarette packs that the FDA finally issued in 2020. Now he has done it again, pushing the rule’s effective date for the warning labels by an additional 90 days, to OctoberContinue reading “Trump judge continues to delay cigarette warning labels by doing nothing”
FDA should not grant exemptions to its proposed standard banning menthol in cigarettes that would continue to allow menthol heated tobacco products or low nicotine cigarettes
FDA’s proposed standard banning menthol in cigarettes is very well-done except for its provision that would allow FDA to exempt heated tobacco products like Philip Morris’ IQOS, BAT’s glo or JTI’s Ploom — which are considered “cigarettes” under the law — or low nicotine cigarettes. (FDA has only authorized sale IQOS so far.) This isContinue reading “FDA should not grant exemptions to its proposed standard banning menthol in cigarettes that would continue to allow menthol heated tobacco products or low nicotine cigarettes”
FDA should prohibit all menthol flavor additives, compounds, constituents, and ingredients in cigarettes, and should not limit the proposed standard to prohibiting menthol as a “characterizing flavor”
My colleagues at UCSF and other universities and I have submitted this comment to the FDA in response to its proposal to prohibit the use of menthol in cigarettes. A PDF of the comment is here. The Regulations.gov tracking number is l6b-ew3y-c1ye. FDA should prohibit all menthol flavor additives, compounds, constituents, and ingredients in cigarettes,Continue reading “FDA should prohibit all menthol flavor additives, compounds, constituents, and ingredients in cigarettes, and should not limit the proposed standard to prohibiting menthol as a “characterizing flavor””
Cutting phase-in for cig menthol ban from 1 year to 90 days will prevent 265,000 kids from smoking and 12,000 premature deaths
FDA’s draft rule ending menthol cigarettes proposes giving tobacco companies a year to clear menthol cigarettes off the market. FDA requested public comment on shortening the phase in 90 days. My UCSF and Stanford colleagues and I submitted this public comment (PDF version) supporting a 90 day phase in. We noted that FDA’s own analysisContinue reading “Cutting phase-in for cig menthol ban from 1 year to 90 days will prevent 265,000 kids from smoking and 12,000 premature deaths”
FDA granting the tobacco companies’ request to extend the public comment period its menthol cigarette ban will lead to 58,000 more smokers and 2,700 more deaths
FDA has invited public comment on its well-justified rule to get rid of menthol cigarettes. Even though dealing with menthol cigarettes has been being considered and debated for 13 years, the tobacco companies have told FDA they need more time to prepare their comments and asked that the comment period be extended for 60 days.Continue reading “FDA granting the tobacco companies’ request to extend the public comment period its menthol cigarette ban will lead to 58,000 more smokers and 2,700 more deaths”
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”
