The FDA continues to telegraph that it is going to authorize the sale of menthol e-cigarettes. The first strong indication was not acting on the Vuse Solo menthol PMTA, which has allowed RJ Reynolds to continue selling menthol Vuse side-by-side (screen capture below) with the authorized tobacco flavor. Now, the FDA press release announcing itsContinue reading “FDA sends another signal that it will authorize menthol ecigs despite high youth use”
Category Archives: vaping
E-cigarettes more likely to lead to ongoing nicotine addiction than NRT
E-cigarette advocates and, more important, the FDA, takes it as given that e-cigarettes were developed as a harm reduction tool to help smokers quit cigarettes by “switching completely.” This assumption is, however, inconsistent with the tobacco companies’ actual reasons for developing e-cigarettes and other non-combustible products, including tobacco company products approved as NRT: To deterContinue reading “E-cigarettes more likely to lead to ongoing nicotine addiction than NRT”
Higher nicotine content and flavors increase e-cig abuse liability
As debates over nicotine and flavors in e-cigarettes continues to heat up, Mari Gades, Aleksandra Alcheva, Amy Riegelman, and Dorothy Hatsukami just published “The role of nicotine and flavor in the abuse potential and appeal of electronic cigarettes for adult current and former cigarette and electronic cigarette users: A systematic review” in Nicotine and TobaccoContinue reading “Higher nicotine content and flavors increase e-cig abuse liability”
Study claiming SF flavor ban increased youth smoking dissolves; it is not based on any data collected after enforcing the ban
The research letter, “A Difference-in-Differences Analysis of Youth Smoking and a Ban on Sales of Flavored Tobacco Products in San Francisco, California” Abigail Friedman published in JAMA Pediatrics in May 2021 concluded that “San Francisco’s ban on flavored tobacco product sales was associated with increased smoking among minor high school students relative to other schoolContinue reading “Study claiming SF flavor ban increased youth smoking dissolves; it is not based on any data collected after enforcing the ban”
New report highlights marketing of synthetic and “non-tobacco” nicotine products
Just as Congress is moving toward giving FDA explicit authority over non-tobacco nicotine products, Rob Jackler’s group at Stanford released a new report, “Marketing of ‘Tobacco-Free’ and ‘Synthetic Nicotine’ Products,” that details how these products are being promoted. In 2009 Congress gave the FDA jurisdiction over consumer products “made or derived from tobacco,” which includesContinue reading “New report highlights marketing of synthetic and “non-tobacco” nicotine products”
Now the usual “international experts” have shown up supporting industry efforts to weaken regulation of e-cigs and HTP in the Philippines
Under pressure from industry, the Philippine Congress has passed a retrograde bill that would roll back regulation of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Medical and health groups, as well as the government’s own Department of Health, are urging President Rodrigo R. Duterte to veto the bill, known as the Vaporized Nicotine Products Regulation Act. TheContinue reading “Now the usual “international experts” have shown up supporting industry efforts to weaken regulation of e-cigs and HTP in the Philippines”
Altria’s electronic age verification system is used to gather consumer data and promote products
The tobacco companies, including e-cig company Juul, tout their electronic age verification technology as an effective way to reduce youth use and argue against stricter regulation. I have long been concerned that this technology would also allow the companies to collect marketing information that couple be used to promote their products the second that theyContinue reading “Altria’s electronic age verification system is used to gather consumer data and promote products”
MA, NY, RI and WA consistently saw big drops in sales after states banned sales of flavored e-cigs
More and more localities and states have stopped waiting for the FDA to get rid of flavored e-cigarettes, including menthol, and enacted local laws or policies ending the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. (Others, led by San Francisco, have banned the sale of all flavored tobacco products.) Fatma Ali and colleagues at the CDC Foundation, CDCContinue reading “MA, NY, RI and WA consistently saw big drops in sales after states banned sales of flavored e-cigs”
E-cig science has marched on; it is important that decision making and education be based on the current state of knowledge
In January 2021, I published a blog post making the point that the 2018 National Academy of Science Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) report on e-cigarettes was out of date. Now, Physicians for a Smoke Free Canada has published an extensive update detailing specifically how the science on e-cigarettes has advanced since then 2018, noting thatContinue reading “E-cig science has marched on; it is important that decision making and education be based on the current state of knowledge”
More real world evidence that e-cigs make it harder to quit cigarettes
The evidence that e-cigarettes do not work for smoking cessation just keeps piling up. The latest high quality real world study, “Effectiveness of e-cigarettes as aids for smoking cessation: evidence from the PATH Cohort Study, 2017-19,” published by Ruifeng Chen and colleagues at UCSD in Tobacco Control reports on the association between e-cigarette use andContinue reading “More real world evidence that e-cigs make it harder to quit cigarettes”
Stanton Glantz blog 