Tobacco - Articles - Page 3

Fewer young people are using tobacco

Yet 3.6 million middle and high school students still use tobacco products

August 3, 2018

Fewer U.S. middle and high school students are using tobacco products – but too many still do, according to a new survey published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products.

Fewer American adults are smoking

July 12, 2018

The adult smoking rate is at a historically low level, according to the 2017 National Health Interview Survey released recently by the CDC. The figures show that adult smoking rates decreased from 15.5 percent in 2016 to 13.9 percent in 2017 – numbers that “reflect enormous progress in fighting tobacco use and will yield tremendous benefit to lung health in this country,” according to Harold P. Wimmer, National President and CEO of the American Lung Association (ALA).

A FairWarning story

FDA playing catch-up as JUUL and imitators give nicotine jolt to e-cig business

Angus Chen

June 11, 2018

Teenagers from local high schools flock to Brooklyn Vape in downtown Brooklyn. The store is small – a single room with vape paraphernalia stacked to the ceiling in glass cabinets. Many of the teens walk awkwardly through the shop and ask the clerk, a man who goes by Ali and wouldn’t give his last name, if they can buy an e-cigarette.

A FairWarning story

San Francisco’s sweeping ban on flavored tobacco products upheld by voters

Paul Feldman

June 6, 2018

In a closely watched election contest, San Francisco voters have upheld a first-in-the-nation ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products, overwhelmingly rejecting an $11.6 million campaign by R.J. Reynolds to scuttle the law. San Francisco officials last June approved the ban but a petition drive funded by Reynolds, the maker of the top-selling menthol brand, Newport, forced the issue onto yesterday’s ballot.

Health groups accuse lawmakers of bowing to tobacco industry, weakening regs

May 29, 2018

Health advocates are condemning a legislative move made last week by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee that they say will significantly undermine public health by weakening the FDA’s ability to regulate tobacco products. A rider attached to the agriculture funding bill will exempt some types of cigars from FDA oversight and lessen the agency's authority to review the health hazards of thousands of tobacco products.

Weekly news round-up

May 13, 2018

OSHA releases its spring regulatory agenda, more tobacco warnings rolled out and the effects of climate change on health were among the top safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

Health experts want FDA crackdown on Juul e-cigarettes

April 19, 2018

They look like flash drives (and can be charged on the USB port of a computer), come in sweet flavors like mango and fruit medley, and oh, yes – they deliver a strong dose of nicotine. Their popularity among American middle and high schoolers is raising alarm among public health and medical organizations, six of whom sent a letter to the FDA yesterday calling for strong and immediate action on the teen use of Juul e-cigarettes.

Major health groups sue FDA over delay in reviewing e-cigarettes

Health experts charge that delay keeps kid-friendly tobacco products on the market for years

March 29, 2018

Seven public health and medical groups, and several individual pediatricians, filed suit today in federal court in Maryland challenging a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision that allows electronic cigarettes and cigars – including candy-flavored products that appeal to kids – to stay on the market for years without being reviewed by the agency.

FDA may exempt premium cigars from regulations

March 26, 2018

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking steps that may exempt premium cigars from tobacco regulation – a move that is angering the American Heart Association. By asking for more information about the high end cigars, the AHA’s CEO Nancy Brown said the FDA is “sending mixed messages on tobacco regulation.”

Long-term effects of e-cigarettes unknown

January 31, 2018

E-cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes, but they are not harmless, according to a report by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine (NAS), Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes. The report acknowledges continuing concerns with the harms associated with e-cigarettes, particularly as they relate to youth, finding an association between the use of e-cigarettes by youth and the eventual use of combustible tobacco cigarettes.