As part of its campaign to keep the public in the dark, the Trump Administration is closing the CDC Publication Warehouse on Friday August 15. You can still order these Office on Smoking and Health publications for free until then. You can order multiple copies if you want. Items not ordered by Friday will beContinue reading “Order free CDC Office on Smoking and Health publications by Friday Aug 15. After that they will be destroyed.”
Category Archives: tobacco companies
FDA ignores current science to give Juul a pass
Not surprisingly, on July 17, 2025, FDA authorized the sale of Juul tobacco and menthol e-cigarettes. I wish I could say that I am “not surprised” because during the 2024 campaign President Trump announced that he would “save vaping,” but, on reading FDA’s scientific justification (the Technical Product Lead report [TPL]), I found that theContinue reading “FDA ignores current science to give Juul a pass”
New WHO report details progress and problems in global tobacco control
In June 2025 the WHO released its new comprehensive WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2025: Warning about the dangers of tobacco. The report contains detailed country-specific analysis and statistics about progress in reducing tobacco use, policies, and industry opposition. It is a valuable reference document. It recognizes that Overall, while progress since 2007Continue reading “New WHO report details progress and problems in global tobacco control”
Global Action to End Smoking (formerly Foundation for a Smoke Free World) lays off CEO Cliff Douglas
In October 2023 Philip Morris International’s Foundation for a Smoke Free World hired Cliff Douglas as its new CEO (Wikipedia entry). FSFW was the latest in a long string of “third party” organizations created and funded by the tobacco industry to support its political needs, in this case to promote what the industry calls “smokeContinue reading “Global Action to End Smoking (formerly Foundation for a Smoke Free World) lays off CEO Cliff Douglas”
ABC Day One story on tobacco industry documents available here
I just found a video of the first national TV story about the Brown and Williamson documents I received on May 12, 1994. This ABC Day One story produced by Walt Bogdanich, ran on May 19, 1994: While I appear in the story, ABC did not identify me as the source. I wanted enough timeContinue reading “ABC Day One story on tobacco industry documents available here”
“This is not the first time a sale of CBS caused problems for 60 Minutes” updated
I just posted an updated version of my April 29, 2025 blog post “This is not the first time a sale of CBS caused problems for 60 Minutes” that now includes all the relevant videos, including the original 60 Minutes story that disclosed that network management was blocking the Jeff Wigand interview, Mike Wallace’s on-air comment,Continue reading ““This is not the first time a sale of CBS caused problems for 60 Minutes” updated”
What will happen to CDC’s successful Tips from Former Smokers media campaign and 1-800-QUITNOW service?
In addition to the National Youth Tobacco Survey and other national surveys, the now-shuttered CDC Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) provided technical support and $82 million to support state health departments (zeroed out on April 26, 2025), provided through the National Tobacco Control Program, and prepared dozens of Surgeon General’s reports on smoking andContinue reading “What will happen to CDC’s successful Tips from Former Smokers media campaign and 1-800-QUITNOW service?”
This is not the first time a sale of CBS caused problems for 60 Minutes
On April 22, 2025, Bill Owens the executive producer of CBS’s 60 Minutes resigned, “saying he’s losing the freedom to run it independently.” He was presumably reacting to corporate meddling in 60 Minutes‘ journalism. Donald Trump was suing 60 Minutes for $20 billion over an interview they did with Kamala Harris. More important, CBS parentContinue reading “This is not the first time a sale of CBS caused problems for 60 Minutes”
Trump gives Big Tobacco a big gift: He killed the National Youth Tobacco Survey, blinding public, researchers, and policy makers to the effects of changing tobacco industry products and practices
The now-shuttered CDC Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) has conducted the National Youth Tobacco Survey since 1999. The survey provides important surveillance about how youth tobacco use is changing. After Congress created the FDA Center for Tobacco Products, it partnered with CDC to expand the scope and depth of the survey, including increasing detailsContinue reading “Trump gives Big Tobacco a big gift: He killed the National Youth Tobacco Survey, blinding public, researchers, and policy makers to the effects of changing tobacco industry products and practices”
“Hard core” smokers are melting away in response to established tobacco control policies
The whole argument for promoting e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and other “potentially reduced risk” tobacco products is built on the assumption that there is a “hard-core” of smokers who “cannot or will not quit” using established smoking cessation therapies or in response to population level tobacco control interventions (e.g., clean indoor air laws, media campaigns, orContinue reading ““Hard core” smokers are melting away in response to established tobacco control policies”
Stanton Glantz blog 