Tag: United States

  • Quit aids failing smokers

    Quit aids failing smokers

    A new study by researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine suggests that, despite promising results in clinical trials, smoking cessation drugs alone might not be improving the chances of successful quitting among smokers in general, according to a story on medicalxpress.com.

    “Thirty-four percent of people who are trying to quit smoking use pharmaceutical aids and yet most are not successful,” said senior study author John P. Pierce, PhD, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center.

    “The results of randomized trials that tested these interventional drugs showed the promise of doubling cessation rates, but that has not translated into the real world.”

    The study, published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute on December 21, assessed the effectiveness of three first-line medications recommended by clinical practice guidelines: varenicline, bupropion and nicotine replacement therapy (patch).

    The data was collected from the Current Population Survey – Tobacco Use Supplement – a US Census survey of adults 18 years or older conducted to obtain information about the country’s use of tobacco products.

    The Medical Express story is at: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-12-medications-dont-smokers.html.

  • Banning vaping at home

    Banning vaping at home

    The rules governing public housing in the US are changing – to the detriment of smokers and vapers, according to a story by Lindsay Tuman for WRDW News 12, Augusta, Georgia.

    The US Department of Housing and Urban Development has declared that all public housing has to be smoke- and vapor-free.

    So the consumption of cigarettes, hookah tobacco and even electronic cigarettes will no longer be allowed in units – homes – or within 25 feet of the property.

    The new rules are being brought in so as to reduce the cost of building maintenance and the risk of fires, and to assuage health concerns.

    If people break the rules they can be fined and, ultimately, they could lose their lease.

    The housing authority where Tuman spoke with an ex-smoker resident, is said to be giving people plenty of time and resources to quit.

  • Menthol bans spreading

    Menthol bans spreading

    US anti-smoking groups, frustrated by federal inaction on restricting menthol cigarettes, are taking matters into their own hands, according to a story by Paul Feldman for salon.com.

    In recent months, a number of cities are said to have passed laws limiting the availability of menthol cigarettes, which health advocates say have a particular appeal to those starting to smoke. One city voted this month to restrict sales to adult-only tobacco and liquor stores.

    “For a long time, everyone hoped that FDA [the Food and Drug Administration] would move forward,” Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, was quoted as saying. “As those hopes dissipated, there was a growing consensus that communities needed to act.”

    Feldman said that of at least a dozen cities and counties across the nation that had approved restrictions, San Francisco had been the most ambitious. In June, officials there had agreed on an outright sales ban that was supposed to have taken effect in April 2018. But a petition drive funded by R.J. Reynolds, producer of the top-selling menthol brand, Newport, had forced a June 2018 ballot measure on the proposed ban.

    If voters supported the ban, other cities might be emboldened to follow San Francisco’s lead. And with menthols accounting for about 30 percent of US cigarette sales, billions of dollars could be riding on the outcome.

    The battle stems from a 2009 law that authorized the FDA to regulate tobacco products. The law included a ban on candy, fruit and spice flavors in cigarettes, but Congress exempted menthol while directing the FDA to determine if it, too, should be restricted or banned. A 2013 FDA committee report found it was ‘likely that menthol cigarettes pose a public health risk above that seen with non-menthol cigarettes’.

    But the agency has restricted menthol in cigarettes.

    Feldman’s story is at: https://www.salon.com/2017/12/17/tired-of-waiting-for-the-feds-local-groups-target-menthol-cigarettes_partner/.

  • Modified-risk requests made

    Modified-risk requests made

    The US Food and Drug Administration on Monday filed for substantive scientific review six modified-risk-tobacco-product (MRTP) applications submitted by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in respect of Camel Snus products.

    Through its Center for Tobacco Products, the FDA said it was making these applications available for public comment in accordance with applicable laws. ‘Due to the large size of these applications, FDA will post application materials on the Center for Tobacco Products’ website on a rolling basis,’ it said.

    ‘There is currently a 180-day public comment period, which we plan to extend, if necessary, to provide additional time for comment as further materials are received and posted.

    ‘The public may comment on any part of the application, including amendments, until the docket is closed, which FDA will announce separately and will be no sooner than 30 days after the last application document is posted. FDA is committed to giving the public meaningful time and opportunity to comment on these applications and will provide more than 30 days for comment in the event the final documents posted are complex or extensive.

    ‘Currently, FDA has posted the applicant’s executive summary and the following seven application modules:

    • Module 1: Cover Letters
    • Module 2: Table of Contents, Glossary, Summary & References
    • Module 3: Descriptive Information for Camel Snus Smokeless Tobacco Products
    • Module 4: Labels, Labeling and Advertising
    • Module 5: Environmental Assessments
    • Module 8: Foreign Language Certification
    • Module 9: Proposed Post-market Surveillance Program for Camel Snus Products Under a Modified Risk Tobacco Product Order.

    ‘The agency will issue subsequent communications when additional application documents are made public.’

    The MRPTs have been made in respect of Camel Snus Frost, Camel Snus Frost Large, Camel Snus Mellow, Camel Snus Mint, Camel Snus Robust, and Camel Snus Winterchill.

    Starting today, public comments on these applications may be submitted to docket FDA-2017-N-4678 on regulations.gov.

    The applications are at: https://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/MarketingandAdvertising/ucm564399.htm?utm_source=Eloqua&utm_medium=email&utm_term=stratcomms&utm_content=mrtp&utm_campaign=CTP%20News%3A%20RJR%20MRTP%20-%20121817.

  • Teenagers are revolting

    Teenagers are revolting

    In the US, graphic anti-tobacco posters intended to deter young people from buying cigarettes might have the opposite effect, according to a HealthDay story citing new research.

    The research suggests that the strategy of hanging such posters in convenience stores could backfire, prompting some teenagers to light up.

    The HealthDay story described how the tobacco industry focused much of its promotional efforts on convenience stores, and how some states had tried to counter such promotions by requiring that these stores display graphic posters depicting the effects of smoking-related diseases.

    For the study, researchers from the Rand Corporation created a replica of a convenience store in which the tobacco wall or display included also a photograph of a diseased mouth and the words “Warning: Cigarettes cause cancer”.

    Four-hundred-and-forty-one adolescents 11 to 17 years of age were questioned about their views on smoking before and after they shopped in the fake store. About five percent of the participants had smoked before, and about 20 percent were considered at-risk for future cigarette smoking when the study began because they weren’t entirely against the habit.

    The study found that some of the young people were more tempted to smoke after shopping in the store, though this reaction was noted only among those who’d admitted originally that they thought about smoking – not those who’d been sure they would never light up.

    “Our findings are counterintuitive and suggest that some anti-smoking strategies may actually go too far,” said the study’s lead author, William Shadel, a senior behavioral scientist at Rand.

    Whatever the cause, “our findings do suggest that policymakers should be careful when considering graphic warning posters as part of anti-tobacco education in retail environments,” Shadel said.

    The Rand Corporation is a non-profit institution that works to help improve policy and decision making through research and analysis. It focuses on issues such as health, education and the environment.

    The HealthDay story is at: https://consumer.healthday.com/cancer-information-5/tobacco-and-kids-health-news-662/graphic-anti-smoking-ads-can-backfire-on-kids-729222.html.

  • Government not the answer

    Government not the answer

    If the US really wants to solve the smoking problem, government isn’t the answer, according to Brian Fojtik, a Senior Fellow with Reason Foundation, writing on the dailyvaper.com.

    ‘During the last ten years with the rise and growth in the market for e-cigarettes and vapor products, we’ve seen an organic, consumer-driven revolution sweep the nation and much of the world that holds the promise to do more to reduce smoking and smoking-related disease than expensive, intrusive and offensive government programs ever could,’ said Fojtik.

    ‘The response from government regulators, legislators and tobacco control groups masquerading as public health advocates has been nothing short of shameful.

    ‘We’d hope that health organizations and governments that have claimed to be working in the public interest would welcome promise toward reducing lung cancer, heart disease, stroke and COPD – all of which cause smokers to suffer and die prematurely at a rate of half a million a year.

    ‘Unfortunately, so far this promising trend has been received as anything but…’

    Fojtik’s piece is at:

    http://dailyvaper.com/2017/12/13/we-dont-need-the-government-to-solve-smoking-problem/

  • US equivocates on quitting

    US equivocates on quitting

    Not one US state funds tobacco prevention programs at levels recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP).

    This is one of the findings contained in a report, Broken Promises to Our Children: A State-by-State Look at the 1998 Tobacco Settlement 19 Years Later. The report was published yesterday by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Americans for Non-smokers’ Rights and the Truth Initiative.

    It finds that the states will collect $27.5 billion this year from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend less than three percent of that income, $721.6 million, on tobacco prevention programs.

    And the $721.6 million that the states have budgeted for tobacco prevention is a small fraction of the $3.3 billion the CDCP recommends. Not a single state funds tobacco prevention programs at CDCP-recommended levels, and only two states, Alaska and California, provide more than 90 percent of the recommended funding.

    But the report finds that states with ‘well-funded’, sustained tobacco prevention programs have seen remarkable progress. Florida, with one of the longest-running programs, had reduced its high school smoking rate to 5.2 percent, one of the lowest rates ever reported by any state.

    A press note announcing the publication of the report said the US had reduced smoking to record lows of 15.1 percent among adults and 8.0 percent among high school students.

    ‘But tobacco use still kills more than 480,000 Americans and costs the nation about $170 billion in health care bills each year,’ the note said.

    ‘Today’s [Wednesday’s] report also highlights large disparities in who smokes and who suffers from tobacco-related diseases in the United States.

    ‘Smoking rates are especially high in a swath of 12 states in the Midwest and South, an area called “Tobacco Nation” in a recent Truth Initiative report.

    ‘Nationwide, smoking rates are highest among people who live below the poverty level and have less education, American Indians/Alaska Natives, LGBT Americans, those who are uninsured or on Medicaid, and those with mental illness.

    ‘These differences are in large part due to the tobacco industry’s targeting of vulnerable populations through advertising, price discounting and other marketing strategies.

    ‘By funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs at the CDC’s recommended levels, states can reduce tobacco use among all Americans. But most states are falling far short…’

    The report ranks California as the top state for funding programs that prevent children from smoking and help smokers quit, while it put Connecticut and West Virginia, which each budgeted zero state funds this year for tobacco prevention and cessation programs, equal bottom.

  • Glantz denies harassment

    Glantz denies harassment

    A post-doctoral researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, US, has accused her supervisor, Professor Stanton Glantz, of sexual harassment, according to a story by Emily Deruy for the San Jose Mercury-News.

    The allegations are contained in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday.

    The researcher, Eunice Neeley, said she had filed a sexual harassment complaint with the university. But the lawsuit, which names as defendants also the UC regents who oversee the system, alleges nothing was done to protect her. She alleges, too, that the school and Glantz retaliated by removing her name from a paper she had researched.

    Deruy reported that Glantz, whose formal title is the Truth Initiative Distinguished Professor of Tobacco Control’, did not immediately respond to a voicemail message seeking comment. In a blog post, though, he had denied the allegations.

    Glantz had revealed in the same post that a second woman had filed a complaint against him in March.

    ‘Based on the complaint filed last March I deny the claims made at that time,’ he wrote.

    The story is at: http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/12/07/researcher-accuses-ucsf-professor-of-leering-at-her-breasts-in-new-lawsuit/.

  • Dividends declared

    Dividends declared

    The board of directors of Philip Morris International yesterday declared a regular quarterly dividend of $1.07 per common share, payable on January 11 to shareholders of record as of December 21.

    The ex-dividend date is December 20.

    Meanwhile, the Altria Group said on Wednesday that its board of directors had declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.66 per common share, payable on January 10, to shareholders of record as of December 21.

    The ex-dividend date is December 20.

  • End-game just over horizon

    End-game just over horizon

    Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), US, is again calling for an end to cigarette sales.

    “It is time for cigarettes to be regulated in a way that is proportionate to the harm they cause,” said ASH executive director Laurent Huber.

    “In the 21st century, society is facing numerous public health challenges to which researchers are still searching for solutions.

    “We must unite to end the tobacco epidemic which has a known and clear path to eradication: ending the commercial sale of cigarettes.”

    In a press note issued through PRNewswire, ASH said that in September 2017 123 public health organizations representing 43 countries had echoed this sentiment with a letter to the CEO of Philip Morris International demanding that PMI implement its former human rights partner’s recommendation by immediately ceasing the production and marketing of tobacco.

    ‘While many Americans may not face assault from second-hand smoke on a daily basis anymore, that is not an indicator of a decline in the tobacco epidemic,’ the press note said. ‘The toll of tobacco products has moved to marginalized populations in the US and abroad.

    ‘Today, one person dies every 4.5 seconds from a tobacco-related disease. In the US, over half a million fathers, mothers, and children are snatched from us before their time every year. This catastrophe is completely preventable.

    ‘Tobacco companies profit by intentionally addicting their customers, and have been given a “get out of jail free” card for all the death and disease tobacco products inevitably cause.

    ‘But ASH is determined to see the end of the tobacco epidemic. We will continue to press to hold tobacco executives criminally liable – several cases are already pending.

    ‘And we will work to take cigarettes, and other combustible tobacco products, off the market. A world where tobacco is no longer sold for profit is just over the horizon.’