UCSF makes 299k Juul documents public on the internet; more to come

On June 27. 20-24 the UCSF Industry Documents Library added of 289,868 new JUUL Labs documents to the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents Library, bringing the total number of publicly available previously secret Juul documents to 1,870,542. There are about 2 million Juul documents from the North Carolina settlement to be loaded plus another about 2Continue reading “UCSF makes 299k Juul documents public on the internet; more to come”

FDA should consider the significant public health issues, especially for youth, created by PMI co-marketing of its Swedish Match General Snus and ZYN oral nicotine products and not reauthorize modified risk claims for General Snus

My colleagues at UCSF and I submitted this comment to the FDA Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee opposing extension of PMI’s current authorization to make modified risk claims because its co-marketing with its ZYN nicotine pouch is fundamentally misleading. TPSAC is holding a meeting to discuss the modified risk request on June 26, 2024. AContinue reading “FDA should consider the significant public health issues, especially for youth, created by PMI co-marketing of its Swedish Match General Snus and ZYN oral nicotine products and not reauthorize modified risk claims for General Snus”

FDA did the right thing when it withdrew its 2022 Juul marketing denial order; it should finish the job quickly by prohibiting Juul on solid grounds

On June 6, 2024, two years after the FDA issued, then suspended its Marketing Denial Order for Juul e-cigarettes based on narrow toxicology issues, FDA formally withdrew the MDO. This does not mean that the FDA has authorized Juul for sale in the US, it just lets FDA start over in its assessment of whetherContinue reading “FDA did the right thing when it withdrew its 2022 Juul marketing denial order; it should finish the job quickly by prohibiting Juul on solid grounds”

Tobacco companies use subliminal menthol to achieve the same goals as menthol as a characterizing flavor. Regulators should prohibit all menthol, not just as a characterizing flavor.

While most countries, including the US FDA, regulate menthol as a “characterizing flavor” — at levels that impart a discernible taste — previously secret tobacco industry documents show that tobacco companies have long used menthol at subliminal levels — below levels that impart a discernible taste — to reduce smoke harshness, reduce dryness, increase smokeContinue reading “Tobacco companies use subliminal menthol to achieve the same goals as menthol as a characterizing flavor. Regulators should prohibit all menthol, not just as a characterizing flavor.”

Altria uses dubious claims of preventing youth use to justify dangerous two-way bluetooth communication between NJOY ecigs and Altria

Altria submitted a Premarket Tobacco Product Application to FDA requesting permission to market its NJOY 2.0 device, which features bluetooth technology theoretically designed to prevent underage usage by authenticating the user before unlocking the device. (Additional news coverage) This is the same argument Juul made for its Juul 2 device when it submitted a PTMAContinue reading “Altria uses dubious claims of preventing youth use to justify dangerous two-way bluetooth communication between NJOY ecigs and Altria”

Glantz and Duffy appear on The Newsmakers to discuss England’s misguided approach to ecigs

Last week Sheila Duffy, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland, appeared in an English language episode of Turkish Radio and Television Corporation‘s “The Newsmakers” to discuss England’s approach to e-cigarettes. They also has the director of the tobacco industry front group Consumer Choice Center. Sheila was quite strong in pointing out that Scotland, Wales and IrelandContinue reading “Glantz and Duffy appear on The Newsmakers to discuss England’s misguided approach to ecigs”

Juul identified “thought leaders” and rated collaborators in 2018

The Juul documents that have been released so far contain an interesting document that lists people Juul considered “thought leaders” as of February 9, 2018. The spreadsheet contains several pages that suggest how Juul came up with this list. Another April 13, 2018 spreadsheet lists Juul’s “ratings of collaborators”: StatNews did a strong story onContinue reading “Juul identified “thought leaders” and rated collaborators in 2018″

Surprise! PM and BAT condemn ANVISA decision to keep e-cigarettes out of Brazil

Philip Morris and BAT both issued statements condemning ANVISA’s decision to maintain and strengthen e-cigarette regulations to keep the products (and other ENDS products) out of Brazil. Not surprisingly, they use the same generic arguments Big Tobacco uses against almost all regulations. The reality is that, as I noted in my post congratulating ANVISA, whileContinue reading “Surprise! PM and BAT condemn ANVISA decision to keep e-cigarettes out of Brazil”

Brazil strengthens its ban on ENDS, including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products

On Friday, April 19, 2024, the board of ANVISA, the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency strengthened its already-strong ban on electronic nicotine systems (ENDS), which includes e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. In stark contrast to the US Biden Administration, which just caved to industry pressure and blocked the FDA’s well-conceived ban on menthol cigarettes and flavoredContinue reading “Brazil strengthens its ban on ENDS, including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products”

Tobacco industry denormalization supports stronger tobacco control policies

Tobacco industry denormalization — the strategy of educating people about the predatory behavior of the tobacco industry — is used in many high income states and countries. Now, Roengrudee Patanavanich and I have published “Awareness of tobacco industry tactics among tobacco control communities in Thailand and its association with attitudes towards tobacco industry and perceptionsContinue reading “Tobacco industry denormalization supports stronger tobacco control policies”