As someone who has spent decades doing public health research and advocacy on tobacco and other issues, I have been the object of several attacks and intimidation efforts, including, among other things, attacks on my professional credibility, litigation, and pressure on funders. Fortunately, thanks to a strong support network, including from the University of California,Continue reading “Forewarned is for-armed: Tobacco, food and alcohol industry efforts to intimidate health advocates and researchers”
Tag Archives: health
Historical and political context for Philip Morris International’s continuing medical education courses on harm reduction: Implications for current product regulation
In mid-2024 Drs. Robert Jackler, Pam Ling and others learned that the for-profit medical company Medcape was offering a continuing medical education course on tobacco harm reduction sponsored by Philip Morris International that promoted the industry position that smokers could reduce risk by switching from cigarettes to “less risky” products, such as smokeless tobacco. MostContinue reading “Historical and political context for Philip Morris International’s continuing medical education courses on harm reduction: Implications for current product regulation”
UCSF adds 14,000 “forever chemicals” documents to Industry Documents Library
The UCSF Library has added the new Forever Pollution Project Collection as part of the UCSF Industry Documents Library Chemical Industry Documents Archive. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), so-called “forever chemicals” are now widely recognized as a serious environmental problem because they do not break down quickly in the environment and have been linked toContinue reading “UCSF adds 14,000 “forever chemicals” documents to Industry Documents Library”
Heated tobacco products increase risk of metabolic syndrome more than smoking
The tobacco companies have been aggressively promoting heated tobacco products (HTP), including Philip Morris IQOS, BAT’s glo and JTI’s Ploom, as safer alternatives to cigarettes as part of the companies’ efforts to reposition themselves as “part of the solution” to the tobacco problem. Similar to e-cigarettes, they argue that these products are safer because theContinue reading “Heated tobacco products increase risk of metabolic syndrome more than smoking”
Dual use is not an intermediate condition on the way from cigarettes to “switching completely” or quitting
Discussion of potential harm reduction associated with the use of e-cigarettes assumes that smokers will “switch completely” from cigarettes to e-cigarettes or stop both tobacco products. Advocates of this view, including the US FDA, recognize and accept that this process may include a period of dual use in which smokers use both products. Now JosefContinue reading “Dual use is not an intermediate condition on the way from cigarettes to “switching completely” or quitting”
Dual cigarette and e-cig use increases human risk of lung cancer 40 times
As summarized in an earlier blog post, exposure to e-cigarette aerosol accelerates tumore growth and spread (metastasis) among established cancers. This effect is distinct from actually causing the cancer (i.e., carcinogenesis). Indeed, propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine (PG/VG), the primary solvents in e-liquid and which have been assumed to be inert are major causes ofContinue reading “Dual cigarette and e-cig use increases human risk of lung cancer 40 times”
We know a lot about how ecigs promote cancer metastasis
E-cig advocates and regulators including the FDA continue to assume that e-cigarettes pose much lower cancer risks than cigarettes because e-cigarettes deliver much lower levels of cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens) produced by burning tobacco. This oversimplified logic ignores that we now understand a lot more about the cancer process and the fact that there are complexContinue reading “We know a lot about how ecigs promote cancer metastasis”
E-cig advocates publish results showing e-cig users have more respiratory symptoms than nonsmokers
E-cigarette advocate Riccardo Polosa, along with pro-harm reduction colleagues from around the world, recently published Respiratory symptoms among e-cigarette users without an established smoking history in the VERITAS cohort. Their paper presents strong evidence that sole e-cigarette users (i.e., people who are not also smoking cigarettes) are significantly more likely to experience respiratory symptoms thanContinue reading “E-cig advocates publish results showing e-cig users have more respiratory symptoms than nonsmokers”
FDA & NIH must support research to increase tobacco cessation reach and engagement to address populations disproportionately harmed by Big Tobacco
My colleagues and I submitted this public commento to FDA and NIH regarding their priorities for tobacco cessatio research. The Regulations.gov tracking number is m3p-2qiq-zm6w. A PDF version is available here. While it was not publicly available when we were preparing this comment, a lot of the suggestions overlap or complement the recently-released Surgeon GeneralContinue reading “FDA & NIH must support research to increase tobacco cessation reach and engagement to address populations disproportionately harmed by Big Tobacco”
New Surgeon General Report highlights how tobacco industry promotes health disparities, supports menthol and flavor bans and highlights cannabis crossover
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy just released a new Surgeon Genera Report, “Eliminating Tobacco-Related Disease and Death: Addressing Disparities—A Report of the Surgeon General” (Press release). Surgeon General Reports, which, like this one, often take years to complete, represent the broad (if cautious) consensus on a scientific topic. Hundreds of people are involved in drafting, reviewing,Continue reading “New Surgeon General Report highlights how tobacco industry promotes health disparities, supports menthol and flavor bans and highlights cannabis crossover”
Stanton Glantz blog 