Smoking in United States of America
In the United States of America, smoking is allowed but tobacco products should follow some regulations. Under these regulations, health warnings on tobacco packaging including cigarettes are mandatory, the minimum legal age for their sales is 21 years, and there are no federal legal restrictions on smoking in public places. While tobacco advertising is regulated, not all forms of their advertising are banned. An excise tax of 32.16% with a total taxation rate of 37.36% is applied on cigarettes. Cigarettes can legally be sold with authorised documents. They may also be purchased through vending machines as well as through online channels. Importing cigarettes for trade is allowed with an appropriate import license. Despite these control measures, prevalence data show that smoking remains an important public health issue in the United States. There were 39.8 million current smokers in the country in 2024. This represents an overall adult smoking prevalence of 14.1%, with higher prevalence among men (17.1%) than among women (11.1%). In comparison, the overall current smoking prevalence was 12.3% in 2022. The adult daily smoking prevalence was recorded to be 10.01% in 2020. Smoking-related mortality also remains significant in the country. In 2021, smoking resulted in 360,370 deaths, including 216,986 male deaths and 143,383 female deaths. This shows that smoking accounted for 10.38% of all deaths in the United States in 2021, with a higher rate among men (11.9%) than among women (8.7%).
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May 10, 2022 by filtermag.org
Hawaii Bill to Ban Flavored Vapes Awaits Governor’s Signature
On May 3, the Hawaii House of Representatives passed legislation that would ban the sale of flavored vaping products. Previously passed by the Senate, the bill now moves to the desk of Governor David Ige, a Democrat. If he signs it, Hawaii will become the fifth state to prohibit flavored e-cigarettes, joining Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts. [...] The industry and consumer advocates, of course, oppose the bill on the grounds that it will strip from the market the flavored products that adults prefer to help them switch from cigarettes—deterring the adoption of safer products and prompting current vapers to potentially return to smoking. [...]
May 04, 2022 by time.com
The FDA Is Moving Forward with a Menthol Cigarette Ban. Here's What the Science Says
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving forward with plans to ban menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars—policies that agency officials say could help prevent some of the roughly 500,000 U.S. deaths linked to tobacco each year.
“The actions we are proposing can help significantly reduce youth initiation and increase the chances that current smokers quit,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said in a statement. “It is clear that these efforts will help save lives.” But whether the proposed menthol ban will work as intended is a matter of active debate.
May 03, 2022 by medpagetoday.com
How Far Should the Menthol Ban Go?
On April 28, the FDA announced regulations to prohibit menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and all characterizing flavors (other than tobacco) in cigars. [...]
Why Ban Menthol in Cigarettes?
First, the basics: Menthol is a regulated drug when used in products like cough medicine and topical pain relievers, but in cigarettes and cigars it is used as a non-medicinal "flavor" additive with a minty aroma and taste that makes it less irritating to inhale smoke. Menthol also interacts with nicotine in the brain to increase addiction.
May 03, 2022 by reason.com
The FDA Uses Its New Authority To Close Off the Last Remaining Legal Option for Vapers Who Like Flavor Variety
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving fast to close off what seems to be the last remaining legal option for vaping companies that want to provide the e-liquid flavors that former smokers overwhelmingly prefer. Exercising regulatory authority that Congress recently gave it, the FDA has set a May 14 deadline for seeking "premarket" approval of vaping products that deliver nicotine derived from sources other than tobacco. Companies that fail to submit applications by then, the agency warns, "will be subject to FDA enforcement."
May 03, 2022 by lajollalight.com
Guest commentary: Yes, e-cigarettes are harmful to your health
Although I have been studying electronic cigarettes for several years, sometimes it feels like the same questions keep coming back around: Are e-cigarettes safe? What are the health effects of vaping e-cigarettes? Is vaping better than smoking?
These questions come from parents, policy-makers, reporters, patients and health care workers. However, there are many parents here in La Jolla who could tell you firsthand that e-cigarettes are addictive and dangerous. These parents learned about the dangers of vaping e-cigarettes when their own children became addicts.
May 02, 2022 by filtermag.org
FDA Announces Proposed Rules for National Menthol Cigarette Ban
The announcements have been years in the making: On April 28, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced proposed rules for a ban on menthol cigarettes, after a recent announcement saying it would move forward on a menthol ban, following a previous announcement saying a menthol ban was imminent. [...] Explicitly, the proposed law would prohibit “menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes”—meaning that “a cigarette or any of its components or parts [...] shall not contain, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, menthol that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke.”
May 02, 2022 by thehealthy.com
Science Explains Why the Flavor Makes Menthol Cigarettes More Addictive
The federal agency is advancing two tobacco product standards that would ban menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars. These new standards aim to build on the 2009 landmark Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which banned all forms of flavoring agents in cigarettes except for menthol. The National Library of Medicine explains that companies first began adding menthol to cigarettes in the 1920s, but the ingredient didn’t become widely used until the 1950s and ’60s. Today, the American Thoracic Society says an estimated 25 percent of all cigarettes in the U.S. contain menthol.
April 29, 2022 by nytimes.com
F.D.A. Moves to Ban Sales of Menthol Cigarettes
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
FDA Issues Marketing Decisions on NJOY Ace E-Cigarette Products
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
Mitch Zeller’s Legacy of Lost Tobacco Harm Reduction Opportunities
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.