As expected (at least by me) the Supreme Court refused to consider RJR and other tobacco companies’ argument that California’s ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products was illegal. The law will take effect December 21, 2022. The actual order is above. The California Department of Public Health has done a great job ofContinue reading “California ban on sale of flavored tobacco products goes into effect after Supreme Court rejects RJR attempt to block it”
Category Archives: tobacco companies
Big cigarette companies have to display “corrective statements” at point-of sale 16 years after a federal court ordered them to do it
On August 17, 2006, federal Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that tobacco companies violated racketeering laws, ruling, “As set forth in these Final Proposed Findings of Fact, substantial evidence establishes that Defendants have engaged in and executed – and continue to engage in and execute (emphasis added) – a massive 50-year scheme to defraud the public,Continue reading “Big cigarette companies have to display “corrective statements” at point-of sale 16 years after a federal court ordered them to do it”
After sitting on cigarette warning labels, judge announces he will rule on their legality (in a month)
Perhaps in response to the Department of Justice threatening to go over his head to the Count of Appeals, Texas Trump Judge J. Campbell Barker who has been sitting on the FDA’s Congressionally-mandated cigarette pack graphic warnings for years has announced the he expects to rule on the industry’s challenge to the warning labels byContinue reading “After sitting on cigarette warning labels, judge announces he will rule on their legality (in a month)”
Members of the scientific network used to promote “tobacco harm reduction” often don’t disclose industry ties
The tobacco industry has a long history of supporting scientists, often quietly, to establish narratives that promote its interests. Now Julia Vassey, Yogi Hendlin, Manali Vora, and Pam Ling have published a formal analysis showing the network of scientists publishing papers on “tobacco harm reduction,” the core ideology used to justify promoting e-cigarettes and manyContinue reading “Members of the scientific network used to promote “tobacco harm reduction” often don’t disclose industry ties”
RJR promotes “ice” cigarettes to get around Calif flavored tobacco sales ban
In addition to suing California on a last ditch attempt to block California’s ban on sale of flavored tobacco products that was overwhelmingly endorsed by the voters, RJ Reynolds (BAT’s US subsidiary) has sent mailers to smokers promoting new “non-menthol” cigarettes that taste like menthol (pictures above). Desmond Jenson from the Public Health Law CenterContinue reading “RJR promotes “ice” cigarettes to get around Calif flavored tobacco sales ban”
Surprise! Reynolds & friends sue to block Calif flavored tobacco ban
Like clockwork the Big Tobacco (RJ Reynolds and others) sued California to block implementation of the state’s ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products (Proposition 31). This is not surprising since the tobacco companies have a long history of filing unsuccessful lawsuits to scare local and state governments and slow things down. Unlike normalContinue reading “Surprise! Reynolds & friends sue to block Calif flavored tobacco ban”
Recommendations to improve FDA premarket tobacco product application review to follow statutory mandates and improve scientific rigor
On October 21, 2022, Lauren Lempert presented at one of the Regan-Udall Foundation Expert Panels listening sessions on how to improve FDA operations of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products operations. She and I followed up with a written comment letter detailing many of the problems with the tobacco product application processes, including both the premarketContinue reading “Recommendations to improve FDA premarket tobacco product application review to follow statutory mandates and improve scientific rigor”
Kids more addicted to e-cigs since Juul introduced protonated nicotine
One of the big innovations Juul pioneered was adding acid to the liquid in e-cigarettes to make the nicotine aerosol less alkaline and easier to inhale. This so-called protonated nicotine allows the e-cigarettes to deliver higher doses of the addictive drug nicotine. Therefore, we would expect to see increasing measures of addiction among e-cigarette usingContinue reading “Kids more addicted to e-cigs since Juul introduced protonated nicotine”
Regan-Udall Foundation review of FDA tobacco regulation “listening sessions” dominated by pro-industry speakers
Regan-Udall Foundation review of FDA tobacco regulation “listening sessions” dominated by pro-industry speakers The FDA has asked the Regan-Udall Foundation for recommendations on how to improve tobacco product regulation. The Foundation’s Tobacco Independent Expert Panel has had three “listening sessions” that have been dominated by industry players and “harm reduction” advocates. I have previously expressedContinue reading “Regan-Udall Foundation review of FDA tobacco regulation “listening sessions” dominated by pro-industry speakers“
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”