Will Big Tobacco be Victorious in the U.K.?

Big Tobacco, representing companies like Phillip Morris, British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco, and Japan Tobacco have filed suit against the U.K.'s "plain packaging" laws which are due to take effect in May 2016. They claim the law seizes their property without compensation. Tobacco kills over 100,000 people each year in the U.K. This law aims…

Kuddos to the FDA!

The U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the marketing of four R J Reynolds cigarette brands because they do not meet specific safety and composition requirements. The FDA found they have changed so much over the last few years they do not resemble the original products--with higher levels of formaldehyde, menthol, sweeteners, and unclear tobacco…

A Quarter of High School Students Use Tobacco

Analysis of the 2013 National Youth Tobacco Survey reveals that almost half of U.S. high school students have tried tobacco and almost 25% currently use it. More high school boys than girls were current smokers, but was similar in middle school. Electronic cigarettes were tried at least once by 12% of high schoolers, and 3%…

Bravo! FDA to Regulate All Tobacco Products

The U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) finally proposed regulations that will cover e-cigarettes as a tobacco product. Also covered are cigars, pipe and water pipe tobacco along with dissolvable tobacco products and nicotine gels. The regulations would ban sales to minors and require photo identification to purchase. This is a huge step for the FDA.…

CVS/pharmacy Kicking the Habit

Bravo to CVS Caremark! The company has announced it will stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products at its CVS/pharmacy stores by October 1, 2014. Company President Larry J. Merlo cited the inconsistency of selling these products with the purpose of the chain of more than 7600 stores nationwide. It is expected other retailers will…

How Long Till Ex-smokers Return to Ideal Heart Health?

Previous estimates predicted smokers must be abstinent for 15+ years to reduce their cardiovascular disease risks to that of non-smokers. However, recent research has found it can happen in closer to 8 years. Study subjects were 65+ years old and had quit smoking 15 or fewer years ago. The faster health benefits happened for those…

Broken Promises

In 1998 the tobacco companies struck a deal worth $246 billion over the first 25 years with the states (U.S.). Sadly, public health organizations report that less than 2% of the $25.7 billion dollars states will collect next year from tobacco tax and settlement revenues will be used to fight smoking. Only two states--Alaska and…

Smoking Holds Steady in U.S.

The percentage of people who smoke in the U.S. remains stable--one out of every five adults. Since 2005 the proportion who smoked 30 or more cigarettes per day decreased by more than 25% (12.6% to 9.1%). Approximately 443,000 U.S. adults die from smoking-related illnesses annually, and smoking costs the U.S. $193 billion each year in…

Bad News on State Tobacco Control Programs

Tobacco is still the leading cause of preventable death. The Centers for Disease Control in the U.S. indicates only a small fraction of the tobacco industry settlement payments and cigarette taxes are being used to support tobacco control programs. Few states require this revenue go toward these programs. If this trend continues, it is expected that…

FDA Acts to Curb Tobacco Industry Deception

For decades the tobacco industry has decieved the public about the risks of light and low-tar cigarettes as safer alternatives. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has now taken action to require that any future health claims for tobacco products be supported by a wide range of sound evidence, benefit the public, and must be…