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”
Category Archives: tobacco control programs
Shuttering CDC and FDA tobacco offices will increase the deficit by billions of dollars (right away)
Trump shuttering the CDC Office on Smoking and Heath and decapitating the FDA Center for Tobacco Products will not only increase tobacco-caused disease but will also make the federal budget deficit worse (and cost American people and businesses a lot of money in avoidable medical costs). The only winners will be the big tobacco companiesContinue reading “Shuttering CDC and FDA tobacco offices will increase the deficit by billions of dollars (right away)”
Trump removes Brian King as Director and guts FDA Center for Tobacco Products
As part of its campaign to wreck the federal government, Brian King, head of the FDA Center for Tobacco Products, has been put on administrative leave. He has been reportedly offered a job with a regional office of the Indian Health Service that includes Alaska. (According to the New York Times, “Some senior leaders basedContinue reading “Trump removes Brian King as Director and guts FDA Center for Tobacco Products”
“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”
RJR reports Calif effort to get rid of “non-menthol” cigs are working
In 2023 RJR Tobacco sued California AG Rob Bonta trying to block his decision that RJR’s “non-menthol” cigarettes (example1, example2) were included in California’s prohibition on the sale of flavored tobacco products. RJR argued that these products were not “flavored” because the cooling sensation they delivered was provided with the chemical WS-3, which did notContinue reading “RJR reports Calif effort to get rid of “non-menthol” cigs are working”
Surgeon General Reports on Tobacco Health Disparities and E-cigs available at UCSF Tobacco Center eScholarship site
Shortly after Donald Trump took office, the Surgeon General Reports Eliminating Tobacco-Related Disease and Death: Addressing Disparities (2024) and E-cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults (2016), together with related public education materials, disappeared from the CDC website. As of today (February 24, 2025), the e-cigarette report was back on the CDC website, but theContinue reading “Surgeon General Reports on Tobacco Health Disparities and E-cigs available at UCSF Tobacco Center eScholarship site”
Forewarned is for-armed: Tobacco, food and alcohol industry efforts to intimidate health advocates and researchers
As someone who has spent decades doing public health research and advocacy on tobacco and other issues, I have been the object of several attacks and intimidation efforts, including, among other things, attacks on my professional credibility, litigation, and pressure on funders. Fortunately, thanks to a strong support network, including from the University of California,Continue reading “Forewarned is for-armed: Tobacco, food and alcohol industry efforts to intimidate health advocates and researchers”
FDA & NIH must support research to increase tobacco cessation reach and engagement to address populations disproportionately harmed by Big Tobacco
My colleagues and I submitted this public commento to FDA and NIH regarding their priorities for tobacco cessatio research. The Regulations.gov tracking number is m3p-2qiq-zm6w. A PDF version is available here. While it was not publicly available when we were preparing this comment, a lot of the suggestions overlap or complement the recently-released Surgeon GeneralContinue reading “FDA & NIH must support research to increase tobacco cessation reach and engagement to address populations disproportionately harmed by Big Tobacco”
Secondhand cannabis and tobacco smoke both increase cancer risk
The pro-cannabis advocacy group California NORML recently reported that it had successfully kept an exemption for cannabis use in the smokefree multiunit housing provision of the draft ordinance that the Oakland City Council approved on first reading on November 12, 2024. Their posting includes two inaccurate statements dismissing the cancer risks of secondhand cannabis andContinue reading “Secondhand cannabis and tobacco smoke both increase cancer risk”
Oakland City Council should advance law making bar patios smoke-free and make multi-unit housing tobacco and cannabis smoke-free at November 12 hearing
On November 12, the Oakland City Council will hold a public hearing on a proposed Oakland Smoke-Free Bar Patios and Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing Ordinance introduced by Councilperson Dan Kalb. The ordinance as proposed would close a loophole that allows smoking on outdoor bar patios and also make multi-unit housing tobacco smoke-free. Unfortunately, the current draft ordinanceContinue reading “Oakland City Council should advance law making bar patios smoke-free and make multi-unit housing tobacco and cannabis smoke-free at November 12 hearing”
Stanton Glantz blog 