An August 31, 2020 memo detailing FDA’s plan for dealing with the expected flood of Premarket Tobacco Applications (PMTAs), clearly prejudges e-cigarettes as a good thing before looking at a single application. In particular, the FDA describes its “public heath goals” as including Ensure a variety of ENDS [electronic nicotine delivery systems] have an opportunityContinue reading “FDA prejudged e-cigs as good before it evaluated a single application”
Category Archives: youth
FDA does JT/Logic’s work for it to justify authorizing 3 of its ENDS
On March 24, 2022 FDA authorized the sale of three electronic nicotine delivery systems distributed by Japan Tobacco’s US company Logic Technology Development, – two conventional e-cigarettes and one heated tobacco product. FDA withheld the Technical Project Lead (TPL) report that provides the scientific justifications for its decision. Thanks to my colleague Lauren Lempert filingContinue reading “FDA does JT/Logic’s work for it to justify authorizing 3 of its ENDS”
FDA’s proposed ban on menthol cigarettes explains why FDA needs to reverse its de facto approvals of menthol e-cigarettes
The FDA’s decisions to act on premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) for e-cigarettes has been explicit about two points: (1) it is authorizing tobacco flavors because kids don’t seem to use tobacco flavored e-cigs and (2) it is blocking flavored e-cigs – except menthol – because kids like flavors. Because they can’t justify allowing mentholContinue reading “FDA’s proposed ban on menthol cigarettes explains why FDA needs to reverse its de facto approvals of menthol e-cigarettes”
FDA authorizes two more RJR tobacco e-cigs and lets menthol remain on the market, ignoring its own conclusion that menthol reinforces nicotine addiction in kids’ developing brains
Today (May 12, 2022) FDA announced that it was authorizing the sale of two additional RJR e-cigarettes, Vuse Vibe (a vape pen) and Vuse Ciro (similar to previously authorized Vuse Solo). FDA didn’t act on RJR’s most popular Vuse product, Vuse Alto, so it continues on the market. Following FDA’s de facto policy, both wereContinue reading “FDA authorizes two more RJR tobacco e-cigs and lets menthol remain on the market, ignoring its own conclusion that menthol reinforces nicotine addiction in kids’ developing brains”
Ending the sale of flavored tobacco products is the real harm reduction
Yesterday (May 9, 2022) I testified before the Colorado Senate Finance Committee supporting a proposed statewide ban on the sale of all flavored tobacco products. As usual, opponents claimed that flavored products were needed for “harm reduction.” In listening to their testimony, I realized that for e-cigs and other tobacco products to actually reduce harm,Continue reading “Ending the sale of flavored tobacco products is the real harm reduction”
A Juul settlement that would actually protect kids
The first of the private lawsuits against Juul is scheduled to go to trial next month in San Francisco. The whole legal system is designed to encourage voluntary settlement, so it is likely that there are or soon will be serious negotiations between the plaintiffs and Juul in an effort to avoid the risks thatContinue reading “A Juul settlement that would actually protect kids”
FDA proposed menthol ban in cigarettes is well done, except for the exceptions
On April 28, 2022, FDA released its proposed tobacco product standard prohibiting menthol cigarettes. The justification for prohibiting menthol as a characterizing flavor includes a comprehensive review of the effects of menthol on smoking, including why menthol promotes cigarette initiation and how it makes it harder to quit smoking. In addition to summarizing the behavioralContinue reading “FDA proposed menthol ban in cigarettes is well done, except for the exceptions”
FDA authorizes NJOY e-cigs without disclosing reasoning; inaction allows menthol to remain on the market
Today FDA continued its trend of authorizing the sale of tobacco-flavored eicgs — this time the NJOY while leaving menthol versions on the market by not acting. On the NJOY website, menthol and tobacco pods are sold side-by-side, with menthol shown first (screen shot below). Following the precedent set when it authorized the sale ofContinue reading “FDA authorizes NJOY e-cigs without disclosing reasoning; inaction allows menthol to remain on the market”
Ecigs roll back the clock on kid quitting, too
E-cigarettes have reversed the long-term trend of declining nicotine addiction among kids. Now Richard Miech and his colleagues at USC have used the Monitoring the Future survey data on tobacco use behavior among 8th to 12th graders to study the prevalence of failed quit attempts for cigarettes (from 1997 through 2020) and e-cigarettes (for 2020,Continue reading “Ecigs roll back the clock on kid quitting, too”
Fruit ecigs most popular first flavor, but kids who start with menthol/mint more likely to still be vaping as young adults
Jim Sargent, Jessica Barrington-Trimis and their colleagues at Dartmouth, USC, and other institutions just published an important study highlighting the importance of menthol/mint to long-term nicotine dependence among young adult e-cig users. Their paper, “First E-Cigarette Flavor and Device Type Used: Associations With Vaping Persistence, Frequency, and Dependence in Young Adults,” used data from theContinue reading “Fruit ecigs most popular first flavor, but kids who start with menthol/mint more likely to still be vaping as young adults”
Stanton Glantz blog 