Read articles from United States of America

April 18, 2023 by alaskapublic.org

Alaska posted the nation’s highest rate of increase in electronic cigarette use by young adults from 2016 to 2021, according to a report tracking patterns in all the states.

The rate of e-cigarette use by Alaskans in that age group more than tripled, from 4.8% in 2019 – the lowest rate in the nation at the time — to 15.8% in 2021, according to the report. Nationally, e-cigarette use, also known as vaping, increased dramatically during those years for young adults, according to the report. In 2016, 9.6% of Americans between 18 and 24 years old used e-cigarettes, according to the report; that jumped to 19.8% in 2021, roughly doubling.

April 18, 2023 by filtermag.org

Oregon lawmakers are attempting to ban sales of flavored vaping and tobacco products in the name of reducing youth nicotine use. But the move would outlaw popular smoking-cessation tools, shutter small businesses and send at least some consumers to the illicit market.

To supporters of House Bill 3090, it’s worth it.

“It’s always better to prevent the problem than to solve it.”

“I’m a believer in upstream,” said Senator Elizabeth Steiner (D), a physician and one of the bill’s four chief sponsors, during a first public hearing in March. [...]

April 17, 2023 by cnn.com

Although smoking rates for adults in the US are at their lowest recorded levels, more must be done to stop children from using tobacco, according to a new set of policy statements from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The statements, published Monday, are the association’s first tobacco policy update since 2015. They’re based on newer science and better reflect how many children now use e-cigarettes as more kid-friendly products have flooded the market. [...] The rates of kids who use e-cigarettes are high, the AAP says, and the use of hookahs and cigars has not declined. However, the pediatricians note, traditional cigarette smoking has declined over the years.

April 04, 2023 by reason.org

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul claims her plan to ban flavored tobacco products and raise cigarette taxes by $1 a pack is about improving public health. The proposed prohibition encompasses cigars, hookah, and even products like Mint General Snus, which the Food and Drug Administration says are “appropriate for the protection of public health.” But the governor’s main target is menthol cigarettes, disproportionately used by black smokers. So far, the state legislature has demonstrated an admirable skepticism toward the proposed ban.  

April 04, 2023 by civilbeat.org

As the mayor of Hawaii County, I am dedicated to improving the lives of our residents and safeguarding the future of our keiki. To this end, I’d like to strongly encourage lawmakers to consider passing Senate Bill 1447, a bill that would allow counties to enact their own regulations on tobacco and e-cigarettes, enabling us to impose stricter measures as they’re needed to protect our keiki and forge more sustainable island homes where everyone can thrive. The youth vaping epidemic has disproportionately impacted the youth of Hawaii island, with higher rates of youth vaping compared to the statewide average. [...]

March 31, 2023 by truthinitiative.org

Since the 1920’s, the tobacco industry has used women’s suffrage and equality movements to market cigarettes to women. Today, as the industry shifts its focus to e-cigarettes, tobacco companies are using similar tactics to market these products to women, with themes of independence, glamour, fun, and health-consciousness.

The tobacco industry began marketing cigarettes to women in the 1920s, according to a Surgeon General report on women and smoking. Cigarette companies first began targeting women in advertising with messaging that aimed to establish a connection between smoking and slimness, with harmful slogans such as “reach for a lucky instead of a sweet.” [...]

March 31, 2023 by news-medical.net

In the present longitudinal study, researchers investigated whether adolescent individuals who had used electronic cigarettes at study initiation, compared to adolescents who had not used electronic cigarettes, had greater chances of continuing smoking after two years of initiating the habit.

The study comprised young individuals between 12 and 17 years, participating in the third, fourth, and fifth waves of the national-level population assessment of tobacco and health (PATH) trial. The third study wave was between October 2015 and October 2016, and the fourth was between December 2016 and January 2018. The fifth wave was between December 2018 and November 2019.

March 28, 2023 by nationalreview.com

The FDA’s crackdown on flavored e-cigarettes and vapes likely flouts administrative law, a panel of Fifth Circuit judges ruled Thursday.

In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration deemed e-cigarettes to be “tobacco” products, thus giving itself sweeping legal authority to regulate. Since then, it has set up roadblock after roadblock for companies attempting to get vaping products approved and especially those that are not tobacco-flavored, reflecting the agency’s concern that these products will end up in the hands of teenagers. [...]

March 27, 2023 by nytimes.com

Since last August, America has been experiencing a severe shortage of Adderall and related stimulant medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. While the origin of the shortfall is contested, some blame rigid manufacturing quotas imposed by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which the agency hasn’t lifted despite increased diagnoses, insisting that the manufacturers have not used all of their existing allowances. The D.E.A. also has yet to provide a clear explanation of the shortage or to take emergency actions to help alleviate it.

March 21, 2023 by reason.com

In 2019, The Journal of the American Heart Association published a study suggesting that nicotine vaping doubles the risk of a heart attack. The authors claimed e-cigarette use is "independently" associated with a heightened risk of myocardial infarction, which is "similar" to the risk among cigarette smokers.

Three years later, the World Journal of Oncology published a study that claimed vapers face about the same cancer risk as smokers. The authors said "prospective studies should be planned to mitigate the risk."