Read articles from United States of America

June 06, 2023 by filtermag.org

The United States has just observed its annual Mental Health Awareness Month. Another year and another awareness month have gone by with little attention paid to the many people who both live with a mental health condition and smoke.

On average, people with a mental illness die up to 25 years younger than the general population, and many die from smoking-related chronic diseases. Tobacco-related diseases contribute to approximately 53 percent of deaths among people living with schizophrenia, 50 percent among people with depression, and 48 percent among people with bipolar disorder. [...]

June 06, 2023 by convenience.org

Late last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters to 30 retailers, including one distributor, for illegally selling unauthorized tobacco products. The unauthorized products were various types of Puff and Hyde brand disposable e-cigarettes. The Puff products include Puff Bar.

According to the FDA, Puff and Hyde were two of the most commonly reported brands used by youth e-cigarette users in 2022. Among youth e-cigarette users, about 20% reported usually using Puff Bar or Hyde brand products in 2022.

May 31, 2023 by cagw.org

During the annual celebration of World Vape Day, it is vital to take note of the significant contribution to reducing cigarette smoking and saving lives around the world that has been made possible by Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) products.  The event occurs every year on May 30.  From 2007 to 2015, more than 3 million U.S. adults used THR products to quit smoking cigarettes.  Yet there are many obstacles to more widespread use of this effective tool to reduce smoking.

May 17, 2023 by news-medical.net

Using e-cigarettes, or vaping, is highly popular among youth, with more than 2 million high school students using the products, according to the FDA. Recently, manufacturers have started to advertise and sell e-cigarettes with synthetic nicotine, which is made in a lab rather than derived from tobacco plants. There has been little research conducted with youth on their awareness of synthetic nicotine, or what the industry increasingly refers to as "tobacco-free" nicotine.

Now, a study by University of North Carolina researchers finds widespread uncertainty and misperceptions about the sources of nicotine in e-cigarettes among youth. [...]

May 17, 2023 by filtermag.org

On May 5, Rochelle Walensky, the director of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announced her departure from her role, effective June 30. This prompted President Biden to laud “her steadfast and unwavering focus on the health of every American.” 

Her tenure, which began in January 2021, will be most widely remembered for controversies over the CDC’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which brought criticisms and self-acknowledged failures. 

May 15, 2023 by manilatimes.net

THERE is enough evidence that support the use of electronic cigarettes as an aid for smoking cessation in adults, says Kenneth E. Warner, PhD, professor emeritus of Department of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Michigan. "E-cigarettes are not the magic bullet that will end the devastation wrought by cigarette smoking, but they can contribute to that lofty public health goal," says Warner. "For adults who want to quit smoking, e-cigarettes serve as an important less-hazardous alternative to continued smoking," he adds.

May 04, 2023 by civilbeat.org

In a surprise move that stunned many Friday evening, a House-Senate conference committee agreed on a bill to tax and regulate vaping devices and vaping liquids the same as other tobacco products. A tobacco product is any product or device that delivers nicotine to the human brain.

The bill also would make it a crime to ship to Hawaii electronic cigarettes and all other vaping products to anyone not holding a valid retail permit or wholesale license.

May 04, 2023 by reason.org

Before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) came under criticism for its confusing and often contradictory messaging on COVID-19, the agency was responsible for a different public health communications failure, this one about vaping.

In the summer and fall of 2019, there was a spate of 2,739 lung injuries and 68 deaths related to vaping. The outbreak was a surprise. Nicotine vaping products had been available on the U.S. market since 2007 and in large parts of the world, yet no similar incidents had been recorded.

May 04, 2023 by eurekalert.org

As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration wrestles with the best way to regulate a legal but deadly product – cigarettes – it turns to scientists with expertise in tobacco control to determine the most effective steps it can take.

The work of MUSC Hollings Cancer Center researcher Tracy Smith, Ph.D., will be instrumental to some of the decisions the FDA faces.

The FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products awarded Smith two grants this month to study the likely effects of allowing flavored e-cigarettes and a ban on menthol.

May 03, 2023 by tobaccoreporter.com

The government watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust filed a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services over what it says are scientific integrity violations involving the impact of vaping.

The complaint states that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is promoting public health messages on vaping that appear to be unsupported by its own research and scientific findings, according to Center Square.

Protect the Public’s Trust stated that the FDA was making “scientifically unfounded statements about the vaping industry” contrary to its own research, adding that the agency’s own data appeared to contradict the FDA’s public stance on vaping products.