Several people have asked me what I thought of the just-published paper E-Cigarettes in Historical Context—Innovation, Risk, and Regulation by Michael Pesko, Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Rachel Fung and Neal Benowitz. Like other similar papers published by some of these people, the Pesko paper relies on the 7 year old 2018 National Academies of Science, Engineering andContinue reading “New Pesko et al paper supporting e-cigs ignores current science”
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International Pediatric Association publishes position paper concluding that “e-cigarettes are not an effective harm reduction strategy for adults and pose a serious risk to nicotine naïve youth”
On October 10, 2025, the International Pediatric Association (IPA) published a landmark position paper, “E-Cigarettes and the Nicotine Epidemic: Statement From the International Pediatric Association,” in Pediatrics, the international peer-reviewed journal published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The paper concluded, “In contrast to early hopes and assumptions, e-cigarettes are not an effective harm reductionContinue reading “International Pediatric Association publishes position paper concluding that “e-cigarettes are not an effective harm reduction strategy for adults and pose a serious risk to nicotine naïve youth””
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”
FDA setting a maximum level of nicotine in tobacco products without exceptions for HTP and waterpipe will improve health
My colleagues at UCSF and Stanford and I have submitted this public comment to the FDA supporting a product standard limiting nicotine in tobacco products and opposing exceptions for heated tobacco products and waterpipe (PDF). The Comment Tracking Number in regulations.gov is mfj-vc5x-sbgb .FDA’s proposed tobacco product standard setting a maximum level of nicotine inContinue reading “FDA setting a maximum level of nicotine in tobacco products without exceptions for HTP and waterpipe will improve health”
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”
Our public comment supporting creation of Calif Unflavored Tobacco List with some suggestions for improvements
I previously suggested people provide public comments supporting the California Attorney General’s procedures to create an Unflavored Tobacco Products List to facilitate implementation and enforcement of California’s flavored tobacco product ban and indicated our preliminary ideas. You can read all 24 comments that were submitted here. All support continuing the survey; about half the commentsContinue reading “Our public comment supporting creation of Calif Unflavored Tobacco List with some suggestions for improvements”
Calif AG releases rules for creating “Unflavored Tobacco List” for quick public comment
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”
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”
Stanton Glantz blog 