Despite years of vigorous opposition from the tobacco companies, in 2022 California’s law prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products went into effect. RJR Reynolds (maker of the leading menthol band, Newport), immediately responded by starting to market “non-menthol” cigarettes with virtually the same packaging as the menthol version in California, claiming that these productsContinue reading “Calif AG releases rules for creating “Unflavored Tobacco List” for quick public comment”
Tag Archives: health
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”
Cass Wheeler, former CEO of American Heart Association and a wonderful mentor, died
I was saddened to learn that on June 20, 2025, Cass Wheeler died, just short of his 85th birthday. Cass spent 35 years at the American Heart Association, serving as CEO from 1998 through 2008. I don’t remember when or how I first met Cass, but he became an important ally and mentor. As theContinue reading “Cass Wheeler, former CEO of American Heart Association and a wonderful mentor, died”
E-cigarette use during pregnancy increases risk for material and newborn problems
At a time when England is still encouraging pregnant women who smoke to switch to e-cigarettes, the evidence that e-cigarettes complicate pregnancy continues to grow. The recent meta-analysis “Associations between vaping during pregnancy and perinatal outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis” pooled the results of 25 studies published as of July 2024 and found aboutContinue reading “E-cigarette use during pregnancy increases risk for material and newborn problems”
Cannabis use linked to doubling in risk of cardiovascular disease death
Wilhelm Storck and colleagues new paper “Cardiovascular risk associated with the use of cannabis and cannabinoids: a systematic review and meta- analysis” published in Heart adds to the case that, far from being safe, cannabis use poses substantial risks. In an accompanying editorial, “It is time to treat cannabis as an important risk factor forContinue reading “Cannabis use linked to doubling in risk of cardiovascular disease death”
Smoked and edible cannabis both inhibit normal blood vessel function in people
Our earlier epidemiology study linked cannabis use to cardiovascular disease in people. Because most people smoked cannabis in US population at the time, we could not distinguish the effects of inhaled cannabis from other forms of consumption, particularly edibles. Leila Mohammadi and her UCSF colleagues new paper “Association of Endothelial Dysfunction With Chronic Marijuana SmokingContinue reading “Smoked and edible cannabis both inhibit normal blood vessel function in people”
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”
What will happen to CDC’s successful Tips from Former Smokers media campaign and 1-800-QUITNOW service?
In addition to the National Youth Tobacco Survey and other national surveys, the now-shuttered CDC Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) provided technical support and $82 million to support state health departments (zeroed out on April 26, 2025), provided through the National Tobacco Control Program, and prepared dozens of Surgeon General’s reports on smoking andContinue reading “What will happen to CDC’s successful Tips from Former Smokers media campaign and 1-800-QUITNOW service?”
Stanton Glantz blog 