Read articles from United States of America

May 10, 2021 by filtermag.org

As kids went back to school in the fall of 2019, parents, educators, public health experts and lawmakers were growing more concerned by the day. A string of “e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injuries,” or EVALI, was appearing across the United States, and no one—not even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—had a handle on what was happening.

Eventually, in November, the CDC belatedly identified a “very strong culprit”: vitamin E acetate, a compound that had been found as an adulterant in illicitly manufactured THC cartridges. That is, not nicotine vaping products. [...]

May 07, 2021 by chicagotribune.com

May 06, 2021 by biomedcentral.com

Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are devices that deliver nicotine-containing aerosol and were used by 2.8% of American adults in 2017. Many people who smoke cigarettes have used e-cigarettes for smoking cessation, and the general consensus among health providers is that while vaping is not harmless, it is less harmful than smoking. To try to reduce youth e-cigarette use, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts imposed a 75% excise tax on nicotine-containing vaping products and banned the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including combustible tobacco, effective June 1, 2020. [...]

May 06, 2021 by thehill.com

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just announced it will pursue a ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes. Menthol cigarettes, which currently make up around a third of the cigarette market, are disproportionately used by Black Americans. While proponents of the ban claim that a menthol prohibition is a matter of racial justice, the reality is that such a ban will most likely contribute to overcriminalization in Black communities already struggling to determine the role that policing should play in their neighborhoods.

May 05, 2021 by newsmax.com

Many users over 50 are still puffing away, but new research shows that many of them don't disclose this to their doctors.

Folks who use marijuana for medical reasons are more likely to tell their doctors about it than recreational users. Still, just a fraction of medical marijuana users opened up about their use, the study found.

"Older adults may worry about how doctors would respond, as stigma about cannabis use as a psychoactive substance is still prevalent," said study author Namkee Choi. [...]

April 30, 2021 by reason.com

If it doesn't look like avocado toast, you can't have it. That's the message I get loud and clear from Uncle Sam when I read story after story about the Food and Drug Administration's latest foray into stopping ordinary Americans from doing what ordinary Americans like to do.

Take the latest news that the FDA is thinking about requiring tobacco companies to lower the nicotine in all cigarettes sold in the United States. Its goal is to fight nicotine addiction. The paternalists at the FDA are also considering whether this proposal should be paired with a ban on menthol products.

April 29, 2021 by msn.com

The Biden administration is planning to propose a ban on menthol cigarettes, according to several reports, after years of lobbying from public health groups and civil rights activists who say that the products frequently have been aggressively marketed towards, and disproportionately harmed Black communities. The proposed ban will likely be announced Thursday, according to CBS News, in part because the Food and Drug Administration is under a court deadline to respond to a citizens' proposal to ban menthol products by that day. Any ban will likely take years to take effect, but would be a step forward according to anti-smoking groups.

April 29, 2021 by cstoredecisions.com

Smokeless sales, driven by the spitless segment, are trending up at convenience stores with help from ongoing innovation in the segment.

Dollar sales in the convenience channel rose 8.9% for the 52 weeks ending Feb. 27, 2021, totaling $7.37 billion, up from $6.77 billion for the previous year, according to data from NielsenIQ. Unit sales for the same period rolled in flat (0.8%), a dip of 0.1% over the previous year.

“Moist tobacco cans are still king in our stores,” said Lisa Dell’Alba, president of Square One Markets, operating seven stores in Pennsylvania. “We are seeing steady consumption and slight growth in the category.”

April 29, 2021 by filtermag.org

On April 22, high-ranking Democratic legislators introduced a bicameral bill that would create the country’s first federal vaping tax.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin—perhaps the most prominent longtime anti-smoking advocate in Congress—joined forces with Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, who over the past few years has become one of the vaping industry’s fiercest opponents. [...] If the bill manages to survive the congressional chambers and make it onto President Joe Biden’s desk for signing, it would increase the tobacco tax rate—and place the same tax rate on reduced-risk alternatives like vapes.

April 28, 2021 by protectingtaxpayers.org

As lawmakers across the country seek to reduce youth tobacco and vapor product use, many have introduced and passed legislation that regulates, taxes, and in some cases, prohibits the sales of such products.

This analysis includes state specific information on tobacco and vapor product use among adults in youth in all 50 states, as well as Washington D.C. Each paper examines smoking rates among adults in the respective, youth use of tobacco and vapor products, and the effectiveness of tobacco settlement payments, taxes, and vapor products on reducing combustible cigarette use.