Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
LA Will Restrict Sales Of Flavored Tobacco Products
Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles To Restrict Sales Of Flavored Tobacco Products
Los Angeles will ban many businesses from selling tobacco products that come in sweet, spicy and minty flavors under new restrictions backed Wednesday by the City Council. The new rules were celebrated by public health advocates and community groups that argue that tobacco products with appealing flavors — including menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars and liquid pods for electronic cigarettes — have been a gateway to nicotine addiction for teens. Researchers have found that the majority of youth who use tobacco started with flavored products. (Reyes, 6/1)
WABI5: Bans On Flavored Tobacco Sales Take Effect In Maine Communities
As of Wednesday, you can no longer buy flavored tobacco products in Portland or Brunswick. New ordinances banning the sale are in effect. The city of Bangor was actually the first community in Maine to pass a ban, but the city council had to repeal that ordinance last month due to a procedural error of not providing proper notice to impacted businesses. (6/1)
In other news about tobacco use and the tobacco industry —
NJ.com: Rutgers Plans To Go Tobacco-Free By 2023
Rutgers University will be a tobacco-free institution by January 1, the school’s president announced Wednesday morning. The school’s “Tobacco-Free by 2023″ initiative will cover all tobacco products on all campuses, indoors and outdoors, and affect all students, employees, and visitors. (6/1)
Fast Company: Big Tobacco Companies Advertise Near Schools, Candy: Report
Multinational tobacco companies, including British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris International (PMI), systematically advertise cigarettes to kids near playgrounds and schools in 42 countries, according to a study published today by the journal Tobacco Control. With data collected between 2015 and 2021, the report’s analysis details how almost identical marketing tactics across these 40-plus global locations suggest that these advertising methods are part of a larger, coordinated attempt to expose young consumers to cigarette products. (Buono, 6/2)
Euronews: Big Tobacco Is Having A ‘Devastating’ Impact On The Environment, WHO Report Reveals
As well as killing eight million people every year, the tobacco industry has a far bigger impact on the planet than many people realise. A new report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) released today details the destructive impact of this deadly industry on the environment and health of ordinary people. Every year, tobacco costs the world 600 million trees, 200,0000 hectares of land, 22 billion tonnes of water and releases 84 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, according to the report. The CO2 emissions alone are equivalent to one-fifth of what is produced by the airline industry. (Frost, 5/31)
The Guardian: Africa Will Be The World’s Ashtray If Big Tobacco Is Able To Get Its Way
For decades, smoking has been on the rise, driving more than 100 million deaths in the 20th century alone and creating health and other costs of about $1,500B a year that have hampering global growth. According to a report from the global health policy organization Vital Strategies and the University of Illinois Chicago in the latest edition of the Tobacco Atlas, the era of big tobacco is coming to an end: there is an unequivocal drop in global smoking rates, to 19.6% in 2019 from 22.6% in 2007.Concealed in the figures, however, is a plan to turn tobacco back into a growth industry by focusing on Africa. (Kitonyo and Drope, 6/2)
On marijuana, fentanyl, and other drug use —
AP: Medical Pot Proposal Gets Bipartisan Support In NC Senate
Marijuana would be legalized for medical use in North Carolina with a physician’s prescription and purchased through dozens of tightly regulated dispensaries in a measure receiving initial approval Thursday in the Senate. The legislation, which received strong bipartisan support, could help people facing more than a dozen different “debilitating medical conditions” in which their doctor declares the health benefits of smoking or consuming cannabis outweigh the risks. (Robertson, 6/2)
Los Angeles Times: After 3 Teens Overdose, L.A. Schools Warn Of Fentanyl-Laced Ecstasy Pills
The Los Angeles Unified School District is sounding an alarm about fentanyl-laced ecstasy pills after three high school students overdosed. Three teenage girls were found unconscious in a Los Angeles County home on May 25 after taking ecstasy pills that were contaminated with fentanyl, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a Twitter post this week. The teens reportedly crushed and snorted blue circular tablets that they had purchased from an online dealer selling ecstasy. Emergency personnel used naloxone, or Narcan, to resuscitate the teens, one of whom suffered a brain injury, said Dr. Siddarth Puri, the associate medical director of prevention with the county health department. (Alvarez, 6/2)
AP: Oregon Botched Drug Treatment Plan Tied To Decriminalization
Efforts to get millions of dollars in funding to treatment centers and related services as part of Oregon’s pioneering drug decriminalization have been botched even as drug addictions and overdoses increase, state officials and lawmakers said on Thursday. Oregonians passed Ballot Measure 110 in 2020 decriminalizing possession of personal amounts of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and other drugs — the first in the nation to do so. A person found with drugs receives a citation, like a traffic ticket, with the maximum $100 fine waived if they call a hotline for a health assessment. (Selsky, 6/3)
The Baltimore Sun: Pilot Testing Program In Maryland Could Save Life And Limb As New Illegal Drug Danger Emerges
A young woman in a pink hoodie and a blond bun clutched a plastic bag filled with 20 fresh syringes and a box of naloxone, the antidote to opioid overdoses. Jason Bienert, a wound care nurse at a needle exchange program in Cecil County, noticed her bandaged hand and offered to take a look at it. She declined and exited swiftly to a waiting car. “That was the first time I met her,” Bienert said. “I just gave her a little love and didn’t push it.” Bienert hoped over time the young woman would trust him and accept medical care. He knows she’ll need it because, thanks to a new federally backed testing program, he already knows what’s causing her wounds. (Cohn, 6/2)
