FDA’s product standard setting a maximum level of nicotine should be expanded to all tobacco products including e-cigs and nicotine pouches

My colleagues at UCSF and Stanford and I have submitted this public comment to the FDA on its prposed nicotine standard urging that the standard be extended to all tobacco products (PDF). The regulations.gov Comment Tracking Number: mfj-v5cz-15yf. The scope of FDA’s proposed tobacco product standard setting a maximum level of nicotine in tobacco productsContinue reading “FDA’s product standard setting a maximum level of nicotine should be expanded to all tobacco products including e-cigs and nicotine pouches”

Archival copies of Smokefree Movies and Smokefree Media websites are available

I ran the Smokefree Movies campaign from 2001 through my retirement from UCSF in 2020. This education/advocacy campaign put pressure on the motion picture industry to stop promoting tobacco to young audiences through specific policy changes. We advocated for these policies though paid advertising in the trade and general press and the Smokefree Movies website.Continue reading “Archival copies of Smokefree Movies and Smokefree Media websites are available”

In UK 7 times more 16-17 year olds smoking than if there had been no e-cigs

Jessica Mongilio and colleagues just published an innovative approach to assessing the association between e-cigarette use and smoking, the so-called gateway effect, that provides insights between the link between e-cigs and smoking and how it relates to changes in youth smoking prevalence over time. In their new paper “Risk of adolescent cigarette use in threeContinue reading “In UK 7 times more 16-17 year olds smoking than if there had been no e-cigs”

The evidence for the ecig gateway to smoking keeps piling up; ecig advocates continue to nitpick

Su Golder and colleagues paper “Vaping and harm in young people: umbrella review” sums up the large existing literature on e-cigarettes’ effects on youth, defined as people under 25. In contrast to systematic reviews which find and draw conclusions based on summing up individual studies, this umbrella review is finds and sums up all theContinue reading “The evidence for the ecig gateway to smoking keeps piling up; ecig advocates continue to nitpick”

UCSF launches new improved Industry Documents Library

Today the UCSF Industry Documents Library launched a complete redesign of the website that aligns with evolving institutional and user research needs and delivers a new and improved user experience. What’s new? Save the date – On Tuesday, September 9, 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT UCSF is hosting a live website open house and Q&AContinue reading “UCSF launches new improved Industry Documents Library”

Order free CDC Office on Smoking and Health publications by Friday Aug 15. After that they will be destroyed.

As part of its campaign to keep the public in the dark, the Trump Administration is closing the CDC Publication Warehouse on Friday August 15.  You can still order these Office on Smoking and Health publications for free until then. You can order multiple copies if you want.  Items not ordered by Friday will beContinue reading “Order free CDC Office on Smoking and Health publications by Friday Aug 15. After that they will be destroyed.”

Support CDC plan to reinstate NYTS by Aug 15 deadline to submit supportive public comments

In April 2025, the Trump Administration pulled the plug on the National Youth Tobacco Survey in the middle of collecting the 2025 sample, essentially blinding the federal government and the public from important detailed information on youth tobacco use. Now, they are proposing to reinstate it. If implemented properly, this is an important decision. ItContinue reading “Support CDC plan to reinstate NYTS by Aug 15 deadline to submit supportive public comments”

FDA ignores current science to give Juul a pass

Not surprisingly, on July 17, 2025, FDA authorized the sale of Juul tobacco and menthol e-cigarettes.  I wish I could say that I am “not surprised” because during the 2024 campaign President Trump announced that he would “save vaping,” but, on reading FDA’s scientific justification (the Technical Product Lead report [TPL]), I found that theContinue reading “FDA ignores current science to give Juul a pass”

New WHO report details progress and problems in global tobacco control

In June 2025 the WHO released its new comprehensive WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2025: Warning about the dangers of tobacco. The report contains detailed country-specific analysis and statistics about progress in reducing tobacco use, policies, and industry opposition. It is a valuable reference document. It recognizes that Overall, while progress since 2007Continue reading “New WHO report details progress and problems in global tobacco control”

20 state attorneys general sue to block HHS cuts

Today (May 5, 2025) 20 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit to reverse President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr’s devastating cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services. The suit details the broad damage that the cuts are doing, with and emphasis on the states and, in many cases, the specificContinue reading “20 state attorneys general sue to block HHS cuts”