Read articles from United States of America

April 29, 2022 by nytimes.com

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced a plan to ban sales of menthol-flavored cigarettes in the United States, a measure many public health experts hailed as the government’s most meaningful action in more than a decade of tobacco control efforts.

The ban would most likely have the deepest impact on Black smokers, nearly 85 percent of whom use menthol cigarettes, compared with 29 percent of white smokers, according to a government survey. If effective in reducing smoking, the ban could significantly diminish the burden of chronic disease and limit the number of lives cut short by one of the most hazardous legal products available.

April 27, 2022 by fda.gov

On April 26, the FDA issued decisions on multiple NJOY Ace e-cigarette products, including the authorization of four new tobacco products through the Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) pathway. The FDA issued marketing granted orders to NJOY LLC for its Ace closed e-cigarette device and three accompanying tobacco-flavored e-liquid pods, specifically: 

• NJOY Ace Device
• NJOY Ace Pod Classic Tobacco 2.4%
• NJOY Ace Pod Classic Tobacco 5%
• NJOY Ace Pod Rich Tobacco 5% 

April 27, 2022 by filtermag.org

On April 8, Mitch Zeller punched the clock for the last time at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), retiring after nearly a decade as director of the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).

Just weeks later, he spoke to his former agency about his long career. In an interview published on the FDA’s website, Zeller lauded his former colleagues. “In the face of some disappointments that we’ve experienced over the years, no one’s given up,” he said. 

April 26, 2022 by timesofsandiego.com

An end to the sale of flavored tobacco in the city of San Diego is in reach, much to the relief of school districts, youth-serving organizations, health practitioners, and parents. 

The SAAFE Act, introduced by Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, will end the sale of youth-targeted flavored vapes, flavored cigarillos, and menthol cigarettes if adopted. Hookah, premium flavored cigars, flavored loose-leaf tobacco, and non-flavored tobacco products will remain on store shelves.

April 25, 2022 by regulatorwatch.com

According to industry analyst Michelle Minton, the future for nicotine vaping in the United States looks “pretty brutal,” following the FDA’s marketing denial orders, the vape mail ban, and the loss of synthetic nicotine as an ingredient in nicotine vapes. In the battle against anti-vaping forces, no one is more tenacious than Michelle Minton, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. [...]

April 20, 2022 by nj.com

Cigarette sales rose during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — the first increase in 20 years.

Meanwhile, millions in New Jersey continue to smoke. In fact, 10.8% of residents in 2020 were found to be smokers, according to AmericasHealthRankings.org.

For those wanting to quit, options are limited. There’s the gum. The patch. Lozenges. There’s Chantix (varenicline), a drug introduced in the mid-2000s. But besides vaping products, which are not considered a safe alternative, nothing new has offered hope in years. Researchers based in Princeton are hoping to change that. [...]

April 20, 2022 by coloradosun.com

Colorado lawmakers are attempting to ban the sale of flavored tobacco and vapor products under the auspice of “protecting the children.” It’s laudable to reduce youth use of age-restricted products, but a ban on all flavored tobacco and vapor products disregards data indicating youth are not overwhelmingly using combustible tobacco products. This could lead to more harm than good and ultimately fails to address why youth use vapor products.

April 15, 2022 by filtermag.org

On April 13, Chicago convenience stores began selling the first very low nicotine cigarettes to be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as modified risk tobacco products (MRTPs).

The MRTP designation granted last December allows 22nd Century Group, which makes the VLN King and VLN Menthol cigarettes, to publish explicit marketing claims about their products. The company can state that each product contains “95 percent less nicotine,” “helps reduce your nicotine consumption” and “greatly reduces your nicotine.”

They are not, however, “FDA approved” or considered “safe.”

April 14, 2022 by reason.com

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued "marketing denial orders" (MDOs) for the myblu vaping device and several of its tobacco-flavored proprietary pods. The decision, which the FDA announced last Friday, affects one of the leading e-cigarette brands and does not bode well for smokers who have switched to vaping or might be interested in doing so. [...] The FDA seems determined to ban nearly every vaping product currently available in the United States. [...]

April 13, 2022 by filtermag.org

On April 8, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent marketing denial orders (MDOs) to Fontem Ventures for some of its myblu vaping products. It’s the first MDO issued for a pod-based vapor product made by a major tobacco company.

The denied products include Fontem’s myblu device kit, as well as its Tobacco Chill, Intense Tobacco and Gold Leaf flavored cartridges. Fontem is owned by Imperial Brands, one of the largest tobacco companies in the world. “Without more information, it is hard to guess what exactly led to the FDA’s decisions,” Greg Conley, the president of the American Vaping Association, told Filter. [...]