tobacco regulation – Oral Cancer News

Alternative Tobacco Products as a Second Front in the War on Tobacco

Source: www.jamanetwork.comAuthors: Samir Soneji, PhD; James D. Sargent, MD; Susanne E. Tanski, MD, MPH; Brian A. Primack, MD, PhD Associations Between Initial Water Pipe Tobacco Smoking and Snus Use and Subsequent Cigarette Smoking: Results From a Longitudinal Study of US Adolescents and Young Adults Importance Many adolescents and young adults use alternative tobacco products, such as water pipes and snus, instead of cigarettes. Objective To assess whether prior water pipe tobacco smoking and snus use among never smokers are risk factors for subsequent cigarette smoking. Design, Setting, and Participants We conducted a 2-wave national longitudinal study in the United States among 2541 individuals aged 15 to 23 years old. At baseline (October 25, 2010, through June 11, 2011), we ascertained whether respondents had smoked cigarettes, smoked water pipe tobacco, or used snus. At the 2-year follow-up (October 27, 2012, through March 31, 2013), we determined whether baseline non–cigarette smokers had subsequently tried cigarette smoking, were current (past 30 days) cigarette smokers, or were high-intensity cigarette smokers. We fit multivariable logistic regression models among baseline non–cigarette smokers to assess whether baseline water pipe tobacco smoking and baseline snus use were associated with subsequent cigarette smoking initiation and current cigarette smoking, accounting for established sociodemographic and behavioral risk factors. We fit similarly specified multivariable ordinal logistic regression models to assess whether baseline water pipe tobacco smoking and baseline snus use were associated with high-intensity cigarette smoking at follow-up. Exposures Water pipe tobacco smoking and the use of snus at baseline. Main Outcomes [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-10-14T12:26:30-07:00October, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

FDA’s tobacco regulation draft proposal weakened by the White House

Author: Toni Clarke and Sharon BegleySource: huffingtonpost.com WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - White House changes to proposed rules for tobacco products significantly weakened language detailing health risks from cigars and deleted restrictions that might have prevented online sales of e-cigarettes, published documents show. The White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which analyzes the potential economic consequences of proposed regulations, deleted language in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently proposed regulations describing how the rules would keep thousands of people from taking up cigar smoking and have enormous public health benefits. The OMB also weakened language detailing the FDA's concerns about the safety of e-cigarettes, according to documents published Tuesday in the Federal Register. Emily Cain, a spokeswoman for OMB, said that as with any rule, OMB's office of information and regulatory affairs conducted an interagency review process "to ensure that the regulations through which agencies implement policies are efficient, well-designed to achieve their objectives, and based upon the best available evidence." "It is routine for agencies to make changes to their draft rules during the course of OMB review," she added. "The goal is to maximize the effectiveness and benefit of the rules we complete." An FDA spokeswoman, Jennifer Haliski, said the FDA does not comment on changes to a proposal during the review process but said the period for the public to comment on the proposal is still open until Aug. 8. "All comments will be carefully considered as the final rule is being developed," she said in [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-06-25T12:26:37-07:00June, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

FDA Efforts to Reduce Youth Smoking

Source: USA TodayPublished: February 4, 2014 WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration is launching the government's largest effort yet to curb tobacco use among at-risk teens. The $115 million media campaign stems from the FDA's new authority to regulate tobacco, granted by a 2009 law, says commissioner Margaret Hamburg. The ads will target the roughly 10 million American teens who are open to smoking or are already experimenting with cigarettes, she says. That investment "is one of the most important efforts in recent times in the effort to reduce youth smoking," says Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "The FDA has carefully researched which ads will have the greatest impact on at-risk youth. These were designed with the same scientific rigor that Madison Avenue uses to market its products." Many "at-risk" kids see smoking as a temporary coping mechanism to help them deal with the "chaos" caused by poverty, violence or family turmoil, said Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products. This ad dramatizes one of the real costs of smoking, namely that smoking can cause wrinkles that age you prematurely.(Photo: FDA) "We are not talking about happy-go-lucky kids," Zeller said. "They don't see themselves as smokers. They think they will be able to quit." Although the first round of ads will aim for a broad audience, later campaigns will target specific groups, such as gay teens and Native Americans, Zeller said. Ads from the campaign, called "The Real Cost," will run on [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-02-05T15:27:10-07:00February, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

CDC urges 50-state anti-smoking effort

Source: CNN Author: Ann Curley In 2007, the Institute of Medicine, the medical branch of the National Academy of Sciences, released "Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation," stating a goal of eliminating smoking as a public health problem in the United States. The strategies included strengthening and fully activating tobacco control methods similar to the CDC's plans, as well as tobacco regulation. In 2008, the World Health Organization's MPOWER program outlined additional steps that complemented and reinforced the other agencies' recommendations. As an example of the success of these strategies, the CDC cites the state of California, which has one of the oldest comprehensive tobacco control programs. California cut adult smoking rates from 22.7 percent in 1988 to 13.3 percent in 2006. That reduction in smoking accelerated the decline of heart disease deaths and lung cancer incidence in California, compared with the rest of the country. In 2009, 14 states and the District of Columbia implemented an excise tax on cigarettes. Those state tax hikes followed a 62-cent federal cigarette tax hike instituted by Congress in April 2009. Twenty-four states and D.C. have comprehensive smoke-free laws. Seven states do not have statewide smoke-free laws of any type: Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming. While some progress has been made in getting more states to implement tobacco control measures, the report stresses that much more is still needed. The CDC's Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs 2007 noted that states could plan and [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-04-23T11:17:16-07:00April, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Up in smoke: health insurers hold billions in tobacco stocks

Source: Southernstudies.org Author: Desiree Evans A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that major U.S., Canadian and British life and health insurance companies are investing billions of dollars in tobacco company stock. Researchers first revealed that health and life insurance companies had major investments in tobacco companies in 1995 in an article in the British medical journal Lancet. More than 10 years later, insurance companies are still deeply invested in "big" tobacco, despite the national calls upon them to divest. "Despite calls upon the insurance industry to get out of the tobacco business by physicians and others, insurers continue to put their profits above people's health," said Wesley Boyd, the new report's lead author and a faculty member of Harvard Medical School. "It's clear their top priority is making money, not safe-guarding people's well-being." The report found that seven health and life-insurance companies in both the United States and overseas have nearly $4.5 billion invested in companies whose affiliates produce cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco. "Although investing in tobacco while selling life or health insurance may seem self-defeating, insurance firms have figured out ways to profit from both," Boyd said. "Insurers exclude smokers from coverage or, more commonly, charge them higher premiums. Insurers profit -- and smokers lose -- twice over." The study highlights New Jersey-based Prudential Financial Inc., which sells life insurance and long-term disability coverage. With total tobacco holdings of $264.3 million, Prudential Financial is a major investor in three tobacco firms, including America's biggest cigarette [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-06-19T07:41:28-07:00June, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Senate Passes Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act Bill

Source: CNN.com Author: Evan Glass Senate passes bill increasing FDA power over tobacco products: WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A bill that increases the power of the federal Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products cleared the Senate on Thursday. The Senate voted 79-17 for the Family Smoking and Tobacco Control Act, which is similar to a bill already passed by the House of Representatives. An aide to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said the chamber will vote Friday on accepting the Senate bill, which would send the measure to President Obama for his signature. Most Senate opposition came from tobacco-producing states including Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. In a break from tradition, the two senators from Virginia -- another tobacco state -- supported the measure, indicating a moderate shift in the state's politics. The tobacco bill would allow the FDA to ban some tobacco products, limit the amount of nicotine in tobacco products and enlarge warning labels. A White House statement quoted Obama as calling the measure historic for "giving the scientists and medical experts at the FDA the power to take sensible steps that will reduce tobacco's harmful effects and prevent tobacco companies from marketing their products to children." The statement said Obama looks forward to signing the bill. The American Cancer Society, in a statement released shortly after the vote, said, "Today is an historic day for public health. "Tobacco is virtually the only consumable product not regulated in the U.S. and the tobacco industry exploits this [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-06-11T15:26:59-07:00June, 2009|Oral Cancer News|