More and more states and localities are enacting bans or restrictions on the sale of flavored tobacco products. David Timberlake and colleague recently published “Variation in adults’ use of flavored tobacco products by sales restrictions in California jurisdictions” that uses data collected in California in 2019-2020 to show that comprehensive flavor sales bans are associatedContinue reading “Comprehensive bans on sale of flavored tobacco products associated with less use of flavored tobacco without increasing nonflavored tobacco”
Category Archives: tobacco control programs
India first country to address tobacco promotions in streaming content
India continues to lead in reducing impact of onscreen tobacco use. On May 31, 2023, India’s government closed the loophole for streaming content, making India the first country in the world to issue regulations related to and designed to curb tobacco use in movies and other content that appears on streaming services. The government, legislators,Continue reading “India first country to address tobacco promotions in streaming content”
State anti-smoking program has saved Californians over a trillion dollars in healthcare costs alone
Tobacco companies oppose tobacco control policies by arguing that anything that reduces tobacco use hurts the economy. The new paper Jim Lightwood, Steve Anderson and I just published “Smoking and healthcare expenditure reductions associated with the California Tobacco Control Program, 1989 to 2019: A predictive validation,” shows that, quite the contrary, reducing smoking saves aContinue reading “State anti-smoking program has saved Californians over a trillion dollars in healthcare costs alone”
YouTube videos from smokers on RJR “non-menthol” cigarettes say they are still flavored: Direct evidence they violate California law
Customer reviews posted to YouTube provide evidence that RJ Reynolds’ new “non-menthol” cigarettes are still flavored and violate California’s (and local) bans on the sale of flavored tobacco products. The most extensive example is a detailed product review: In a second video, at around :45, the woman says the Newport non-menthols “still have a hintContinue reading “YouTube videos from smokers on RJR “non-menthol” cigarettes say they are still flavored: Direct evidence they violate California law”
FDA pushes back date for finishing PMTAs (again)
The convenience store trade publication CSP reported that the FDA has pushed the anticipated date for finishing making decisions on premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) — mostly e-cigarettes — again, this time to the end of 2023. According to CSP, The Food and Drug Administration is going to need until the end of 2023 toContinue reading “FDA pushes back date for finishing PMTAs (again)”
Plan to attend annual “It’s About a Billion Lives Symposium” on Jan 26, 2023
Registration is now open for the annual UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education symposium. The symposium is back to being in person (as well as streamed) on Thursday, January 26, 2023 at 8am Pacific Time. I will be participating in a panel on the tobacco documents with a great group of people. AsContinue reading “Plan to attend annual “It’s About a Billion Lives Symposium” on Jan 26, 2023″
California ban on sale of flavored tobacco products goes into effect after Supreme Court rejects RJR attempt to block it
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”
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”
Massachusetts’ comprehensive flavor ban cut menthol sales by 96% and overall tobacco sales by 25%
While the FDA continues to dither on getting rid of flavored tobacco products, most notably menthol e-cigarettes, states and localities continue to move forward. The tobacco companies continue to argue that such bans don’t work and that people will just switch to other products. Melody Kingsley, Hannah McGinnes, and their colleagues at the Massachusetts DepartmentContinue reading “Massachusetts’ comprehensive flavor ban cut menthol sales by 96% and overall tobacco sales by 25%”
White House OKs FDA moving forward on reducing nicotine in cigs; FDA can and should ban menthol ecigs now
On June 21, 2022, the Biden Administration announced that FDA would be moving forward to develop a product standard limiting nicotine in cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products to nonaddictive levels. FDA has been formally considering such a rule for a long time. In 2018, FDA solicited public comment on such a rule. At thatContinue reading “White House OKs FDA moving forward on reducing nicotine in cigs; FDA can and should ban menthol ecigs now”
Stanton Glantz blog 