OSHA inspections increase, the crew of a fishing vessel escapes a sinking ship and two young UPS workers lose their lives in a California workplace incident. These were among the occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

Twenty-three percent of middle and high school students in the U.S. – a total of 6.2 million youth – have used a tobacco product in the past 30 days, according to the The National Youth Tobacco Survey results released yesterday. Why that matters: Most long-term tobacco product use begins during adolescence – and tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in this country and many others.

Although smoking rates have dropped dramatically in the U.S. - from 42% in 1965 to 14% in 2017 - some groups continue to have high prevalence of cigarette smoking. That’s according to the American Cancer Society (ACS), which is using the upcoming Great American Smokeout as an opportunity to highlight this “hidden epidemic.”

Dueling ads currently playing out on the nation’s TV screens show both sides in an escalating conflict involving manufacturers, health experts and federal regulators. PSAs produced by the FDA warn American children about the dangers of e-cigarette use, or vaping. Meanwhile, e-cigarettes – whose makers have so far managed to evade the ban on tobacco advertising, despite the fact that the devices contain tobacco – are portrayed as health aids which can assist smokers in quitting the use of conventional cigarettes.

A federal judge has ruled that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acted illegally when it delayed a required review of the public health impact of e-cigarettes – a delay that allowed the products to stay on the market until 2022. Cigar makers were given until 2021. In what health experts are calling a major victory for children’s and teen’s health, U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled that the FDA had exceeded its legal authority in giving e-cigarette manufacturers more time to sell their products before applying for FDA authorization.

A group of health organizations says Philip Morris International - one of the world’s largest cigarette manufacturers – is engaging in a “campaign of deception” by saying one thing and doing another. The company recently introduced a new cigarette brand in Indonesia just weeks before announcing “The Year of Unsmoke,” a follow-up to claims that it wants a smoke-free future.

More than 80 percent of popular brand e-cigarettes sold in the U.S. that were examined in a new study were contaminated with bacterial and fungal toxins. Researchers from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health found glucan in 81 percent of the products– single use cartridges and refillable e-liquids. Endotoxin was found in 27 percent of them.

Nearly half a million Americans still die prematurely from tobacco use each year despite the fact that it is the single most preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the U.S.1, 2. So what can be done to prevent the toll of smoking in the U.S.? The workplace is an important setting for implementing tobacco control interventions. 3, 4

A new warning about the skyrocketing rates of e-cigarette use among young people, a film crew member killed in New York City and 2017 work-related fatality statistics from the BLS were among the week’s top occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com.

An advisory by U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams prompted by the skyrocketing rates of e-cigarette use among teens warns parents that any use of e-cigarettes is dangerous. “E-cigarette aerosol is not harmless,” said the Surgeon General. “Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine – the addictive drug in regular cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products. Nicotine exposure during adolescence can harm the developing brain – which continues to develop until about age 25.”