Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Will Narrow E-Cigarette Rules Harm Smoking Cessation Progress?
Politico: Experts Say The Biden Administration Could Blow Its Biggest Chance To Get Smokers To Quit
Even as the agency prepares to roll out a menthol cigarette ban later this summer, the FDA’s bar for authorizing less-harmful menthol e-cigarettes to help smokers quit is so high that it may be impossible to reach. That’s the upshot of communications from the FDA to Logic, a major e-cigarette maker, and comments from former FDA officials and public health experts, who worry the impact of a menthol cigarette ban may fall far short of its desired effect. The communications are in documents obtained by POLITICO through a Freedom of Information request. (Ellen Foley, 7/18)
San Francisco Chronicle: California’s Early Childhood Services Hit By Drop In Tobacco Tax Haul
For 25 years, some of California’s best-known early childhood services have been funded by an almost ironic source: Taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products. That was the deal voters made when they passed Proposition 10 in 1998, levying a tobacco tax and dedicating the money for programs that would help families with young children. The arrangement was never supposed to last forever. Advocates for youth services have known from the beginning that fewer people would smoke over time, and the funding would fall. (Ibarra, 7/18)
Vaping, smoking's technological young cousin, is also in the news —
The Hill: Vaping Harms Heart And Lungs: American Heart Association
The use of e-cigarettes was found to have a negative impact on the heart and lungs as the American Heart Association (AHA) calls for further research into the issue. “E-cigarettes deliver numerous substances into the body that are potentially harmful, including chemicals and other compounds that are likely not known to or understood by the user,” volunteer chair of the AHA scientific statement writing committee Jason Rose said in a new scientific statement released Monday. (Sforza, 7/18)
