News

Vape Additives that Mimic Nicotine Are Potent—and Largely Unregulated

Scientific American
 | Published: 
September 10, 2024

A modified version of nicotine, the addictive ingredient in cigarettes, appeared in the U.S. vaping market in May 2023, prompting alarm among tobacco researchers. These products are being marketed as beyond the reach of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. According to health researchers, this is the latest in a long history of moves by tobacco companies to avoid regulation and amounts to a large-scale human safety experiment...

view article →

Good news on teen vaping? Rates have dropped, but another product worries tobacco watchdogs

USA Today
 | Published: 
September 10, 2024

Nearly a half million school-age kids used nicotine pouches in the past 30 days, more than double the 200,000 youth pouch users in 2021.

view article →

Zyn rewards program follows Big Tobacco’s marketing playbook

Truth Initiative
 | Published: 
July 2, 2024

With oral nicotine pouches growing in popularity – and containing increasing concentrations of nicotine – Zyn’s rewards program is cause for concern.

view article →

What is cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome? Here’s what to know, and why experts say it’s on the rise

PBS News
 | Published: 
May 1, 2024

Patients are often diagnosed with the syndrome based on the way they treat their own symptoms. Typically, patients can only find relief from intense and persistent nausea by taking hot baths or showers.

view article →

Clearing the Haze: Marijuana and Fentanyl

Partnership to End Addiction
 | Published: 
November 1, 2023

You might have heard some worrying stories or rumors saying that marijuana may be laced with fentanyl, a powerful opioid linked to many overdose cases. But it’s important to look closely at these claims and figure out if they’re true. The short answer is that they are false — there is no solid evidence that marijuana is being laced with fentanyl.

view article →

Welcome to Big Tobacco’s Fantasyland.

UNDO: End Tobacco Damage Now
 | Published: 
September 22, 2023

It’s paradise for the tobacco industry, where vapes are deemed safer – never mind the increased risk of stroke, and possibly lung cancer – and the deadliest industry can rebrand itself as your friend.

view article →

Surveying How the Tobacco Industry Markets Flavored Products

Truth Initiative
 | Published: 
March 9, 2022

Flavored tobacco products continue to fuel dangerous youth nicotine use. More than 80% of youth who have used tobacco report that they began with a flavored product. As the youth e-cigarette epidemic continues, more than eight in 10 (84.7%) of the 2.04 million high school and middle school students who vape use flavored e-cigarettes, according to the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey.

Exposure to tobacco marketing and advertising contributes to youth tobacco use initiation. Children and adolescents more frequently exposed to point-of-sale tobacco promotion have 1.6 times higher odds of having tried smoking and 1.3 times higher odds of being susceptible to future smoking compared to those less frequently exposed. Not only do the flavored products and their colorful packaging attract youth, but youth also perceive these flavored products as less harmful. A survey of tobacco retailers in five cities, in three states, highlights how in-store marketing and particulars of place, inventory, price and other variables can make flavored tobacco products more accessible to youth.

view article →

FDA Notifies Companies, Including Puff Bar, to Remove Flavored Disposable E-Cigarettes and Youth-Appealing E-Liquids from Market for Not Having Required Authorization

FDA
 | Published: 
July 20, 2020

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters notifying ten companies, including Cool Clouds Distribution Inc. (doing business as Puff Bar), to remove their flavored disposable e-cigarettes and youth-appealing e-liquid products from the market because they do not have the required premarket authorization.

These new actions are part of the FDA’s ongoing, aggressive effort to act against illegally marketed tobacco products amid the public health crisis of youth e-cigarette use in America. The agency is particularly concerned about the appeal of flavored, disposable e-cigarettes to youth and continues to monitor all available data.

“The FDA continues to prioritize enforcement against e-cigarette products, specifically those most appealing and accessible to youth,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn. “We are concerned about the popularity of these products among youth and want to make clear to all tobacco product manufacturers and retailers that, even during the ongoing pandemic, the FDA is keeping a close watch on the marketplace and will hold companies accountable.”

view article →

The Federal Legal Age to Buy Tobacco Products Has Been Raised to 21. Here’s What That Could Do to the Vaping Industry

TIME
 | Published: 
December 22, 2019

That provision, part of a $1.4 trillion spending bill which President Donald Trump signed into law on Friday, would apply not only to traditional tobacco products such as cigarettes and cigars, but also to e-cigarettes—products that have lately been caught in regulatory cross-hairs, sparked by rising rates of use among teenagers. According to the latest federal data, 27.5% of high school students reported using e-cigarettes during the past month. Raising the legal age of purchase is meant in part to curb that trend by preventing teenagers from buying vaping products, either for personal use or to distribute to younger classmates. So-called “Tobacco 21” legislation has already been implemented in almost 20 states as well as numerous cities across the country. The new legislation, which will take effect in the summer of 2020, would make 21 the mandatory minimum age of purchase for all states.

view article →