Read articles from North America

December 12, 2023 by reuters.com

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador plans to present a law banning e-cigarettes and vapes before he leaves office in 2024, he said on Monday, after the supreme court overruled his previous attempt to outlaw their sale. "It's proven they're bad for your health," he said at a regular news conference on Monday. Mexico has one of the world's strictest anti-tobacco laws, after passing a bill for a total ban on smoking in public places - including the street - in January.

December 08, 2023 by gfn.tv

Mexico’s ban on nicotine vaping leaves consumers caught in the crossfire. While the “tobacco wars” narrative is obsolete, it continues to cause damage, says physicist and tobacco harm reduction advocate Dr. Roberto Sussman. While the tobacco industry today is no longer the villain it once was, public health campaigners continue to wage war, striking disruptive technologies like nicotine vapes that provide safe and effective alternatives to combustible tobacco.

December 08, 2023 by carolinajournal.com

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in the final stages of advancing a proposed rule that would ban the sale of menthol cigarettes. Such a draconian prohibitionist policy is not necessary, because smoking rates are among their lowest levels ever recorded in the Tar Heel State. More problematic is that the FDA is failing to consider the negative externalities that will be caused by such a ban and its cost on North Carolina taxpayers. Simply put, there is no need for a menthol ban in North Carolina, as smoking rates among youth and adults are at some of the lowest rates recorded.

December 05, 2023 by filtermag.org

Earlier this year, Dr. Robert Califf, commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), emerged as a vocal advocate against misinformation in the public health domain. A commitment to combating the real problem of health rumors and falsehoods is commendable. But Califf’s recent statements regarding tobacco harm reduction reveal a concerning level of misinformation of his own—and the distinct whiff of hypocrisy.

December 05, 2023 by reason.org

Youth vaping in the United States has hit a 10-year low, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The so-called youth vaping epidemic appears to be a thing of the past, with historical lows in youth smoking dispelling fears of a gateway effect. The focus of anti-tobacco advocates and policymakers, however, remains disproportionately fixated on youth vaping, diverting attention and resources away from those at the greatest and most immediate risk of tobacco-related disease and death: adult smokers. 

December 01, 2023 by realclearpolicy.com

In the U.S. today, the benefits of e-cigarettes to those who smoke cigarettes have been dismissed and marginalized by public health officials. Most Americans have a highly negative view of vaping – until they learn more. Simple facts about the harm-reduction and smoking-cessation benefits of vaping products – particularly flavored vapes, which are two to three times more effective at helping adults quit smoking – shifts sentiment significantly.

December 01, 2023 by cbc.ca

Canada's health minister says he'll act quickly to shut down a "loophole" after Health Canada approved the sale of flavoured nicotine pouches with no restrictions on how the product is advertised or sold. "There are very serious questions about what the tobacco industry is doing here and what their intention is. And it would seem that their intention is to addict new young people to nicotine, which is disgusting," Health Minister Mark Holland said Tuesday in response to questions from CBC News. "We want to shut down this loophole."

November 23, 2023 by aafp.org

New research found that e-cigarette use is falling among high-schoolers but more middle-school students are using tobacco products, and the authors called for sustained work through health care interventions and other efforts. “Given the negative health consequences of tobacco use and the unique harms associated with adolescent nicotine exposure, prevention of tobacco use by youths is imperative,” the authors wrote in the report, published Nov. 3 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Based on the ways youth use tobacco products, they suggested, this could include price increases, smoke-free policies that cover e-cigarettes and clinical interventions.

November 17, 2023 by regulatorwatch.com

With the province of Quebec now wholly joined with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and the Northwest Territories in banning or restricting flavours in nicotine vaping products, hundreds of thousands of Canadians now have little or no access to a vital tool for tobacco harm reduction. Joining us today to discuss these troubling developments is Ian Irvine, professor of economics at the Department of Economics at Concordia University in Montreal. Is Canada now hostile territory for nicotine vapers? Find Out!

November 15, 2023 by globalnews.ca

The introduction of nicotine pouches to the Canadian market has raised concerns among health experts, who are urging prompt regulation due to the legal availability of these products to children. On Tuesday, a group of Canadian health organizations, including the Canadian Cancer Society, urged the federal government to restrict the availability of nicotine pouches, saying the product contains “a highly addictive drug.”