Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Cracks Down On Tobacco Products, But Steps Back From Ban On Selling Flavored E-Cigarettes In Stores
The Washington Post: FDA Unveils Sweeping Anti-Tobacco Effort To Reduce Underage Vaping And Smoking
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday launched a multipronged attack on the rising underage use of tobacco products, imposing sales restrictions on flavored e-cigarettes and announcing plans to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. The FDA says it will limit sales of many flavored e-cigarettes to bricks-and-mortar outlets that have either age-restricted entry or areas inside stores that are not accessible to people under 18. The agency also will require stepped-up age verification for online sales. (McGinley and Bernstein, 11/15)
The New York Times: F.D.A. Seeks Restrictions On Teens’ Access To Flavored E-Cigarettes And A Ban On Menthol Cigarettes
The proposed menthol ban would be the most aggressive action the F.D.A. has taken against the tobacco industry in nearly a decade, and it was notable given the Trump administration’s business-friendly approach to regulatory issues. But the proposal is likely to face a protracted legal battle, so it could be years in the making. The effort to cut off access to flavored e-cigarettes stopped short of a ban that the F.D.A. had threatened in recent months as it sought to persuade e-cigarette makers like Juul Labs to drop marketing strategies that might appeal to minors. The agency said it would allow stores to continue selling such flavored products, but only from closed off-areas that would be inaccessible to teenagers. (Kaplan and Hoffman, 11/15)
NPR: FDA Moves To Ban Menthol Cigarettes, Flavored Cigars
In a statement, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb says the moves are aimed at fighting smoking among young people. Flavored e-cigarettes, menthol-flavored tobacco cigarettes and flavored cigars are all popular among teenagers. "Today, I'm pursuing actions aimed at addressing the disturbing trend of youth nicotine use and continuing to advance the historic declines we've achieved in recent years in the rates of combustible cigarette use among kids," Gottlieb says. (Stein, 11/15)
The Wall Street Journal: FDA Seeks Ban On Menthol Cigarettes
The FDA concluded in 2013 that menthols are harder to quit and likely pose a greater health risk than regular cigarettes. But it wasn’t until last year that the agency signaled it was considering a ban on menthol and other flavored tobacco products. (Maloney and McGinty, 11/15)
The Associated Press: FDA To Crack Down On Menthol Cigarettes, Flavored Vapes
Battery-powered e-cigarettes are more popular among teens than regular smokes and are considered safer. But many versions contain potentially addictive nicotine, and health officials believe they set kids who try them on a path toward regular cigarettes. Gottlieb called for additional steps to prevent the marketing of e-cigarettes directly to kids and online sales to minors. He also proposed beefing up measures to ensure that convenience stores and some other retailers do not sell e-cigarettes in kid-friendly flavors such as cherry and vanilla. They could still be sold in vape shops or other businesses that do not admit minors. (Stobbe, 11/15)
The Wall Street Journal: Youth Use Of E-Cigarettes Jumped 78%, Government Study Shows
Youth use of e-cigarettes soared between 2017 and 2018, thanks largely to the popularity of the Juul and similar thumb-drive shaped vaporizers, according to a federal survey released Thursday. The number of U.S. high-school students who used e-cigarettes rose 78% between the spring of 2017 and the spring of 2018 to 3.05 million, according to data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey. That is 20.8%, or one out of every five high-school students. (McKay, 11/15)
The New York Times: The Price Of Cool: A Teen, A Juul And Nicotine Addiction
He was supposed to inhale on something that looked like a flash drive and threw off just a wisp of a cloud? What was the point? A skeptical Matt Murphy saw his first Juul at a high school party in the summer of 2016, in a suburban basement crowded with kids shouting over hip-hop and swigging from Poland Spring water bottles filled with bottom-shelf vodka, followed by Diet Coke chasers. (Hoffman, 11/16)
The New York Times: She Couldn’t Quit Smoking. Then She Tried Juul.
Try as she might, Brittany Kligman couldn’t free herself of a pack-a-day cigarette habit, eight years in duration. And she ached to. She was mortified the time that a taxi driver sniffed as she entered his cab and remarked, “You’re a smoker, huh?” (And she had just showered!) She was getting more sinus infections. Because her chest felt uncomfortably tight when she exercised, she stopped high intensity interval training. Then SoulCycle classes. Finally, she quit working out. (Hoffman, 11/16)
Bloomberg: FDA Plans To Ban Menthol Cigarettes, Limit E-Cigarettes Like Juul
The announcement kicks off what is likely to be a protracted period of policy making and legal wrangling. The agency’s tobacco staff must draw up the new regulations, which will be eventually subject to public comment and could face court challenges from the industry. (Edney, 11/15)
San Jose Mercury News: ‘Vaping Epidemic’: Health Advocates Call On Local Leaders To Adopt Tighter Rules To Protect Youth
As the Food and Drug Administration captured national headlines Thursday announcing plans to reduce underage tobacco product use, health advocates in Fremont hosted a meeting on the issue, and called on local leaders to take further steps to protect youth from nicotine addiction. About 50 people showed up Thursday evening to hear about the results of a recent study examining the offerings and pricing of tobacco products at retailers in Fremont. (Geha, 11/16)
KQED: E-Cigarette Health Risks: What We Know, What We Don't
There are two ways e-cigarettes can affect your health — one is directly, from the product itself, and the other is from Gottlieb’s primary concern: Kids who vape are more likely to become addicted to nicotine and to try regular cigarettes. After all, he pointed out, 90 percent of adults who smoke started before age 18. The key to reducing deaths and debilitating illness from smoking is to prevent kids from starting. (McClurg, 11/15)
The New York Times: Q&A: The ABCs Of E-Cigarettes
The term “electronic cigarette” refers to a battery-powered device that heats a tank or cartridge of liquid usually containing nicotine, flavorings and other chemicals, but not the cancer-causing tar found in tobacco cigarettes. Users inhale and exhale the vapor. The devices come in numerous shapes, including ones that look like pens, flash drives and hookahs. Many consumers are confused about the health implications of e-cigarettes. This is a primer about what research so far shows about these devices. (Hoffman, 11/15)
