We re always eager to hear the results of smoking cessation trials, hoping for some rare good news on this subject. But the latest trial of nicotine therapy has us baffled. In this nationwide randomized clinical trial just reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers studied the effect of nicotine lozenges on smokers who were in a practice quit attempt trial. The smokers were not committed to quitting and were not advised to do so.
Harm Reduction
New York City s roll-your-own (RYO) cigarette shops are getting attention due to the city s attempt to end what they deem illicit tax avoidance by the RYO makers. At issue is the tax loophole that such businesses happily exploit: The loose tobacco they sell for their high-speed cigarette rolling machines is subject to only a fraction of the taxes that would be fixed on a commercially produced pack.
Today marks the 36th annual Great American Smokeout a yearly event sponsored by the American Cancer Society that encourages smokers to quit for at least one day in the hope that it will eventually lead to quitting for good.
More than two-thirds of American smokers want to quit, but only a fraction actually do, underscoring a need for more services, messages, and access to medications to help them kick the habit, writes Betsy McKay of The Wall Street Journal. McKay s brief article recaps this week s report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has found that, of the nearly 69 percent of adult smokers who wanted to quit in 2010, more than half tried but only 6.2 percent succeeded.
ACSH applauds John Tierney s column in today s Science section of The New York Times, in which he argues for the promotion of electronic cigarettes as a harm reduction method to reduce the tremendous toll of smoking in the U.S.
The FDA s efforts to mandate the display of graphic images on cigarette packs have been blocked by a judge s ruling. Declaring that the regulation violates the tobacco companies First Amendment right to free commercial speech and would likely be considered unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon stopped the regulation from taking effect until a lawsuit filed by the companies against the graphic images is resolved.
In a letter published in Michigan s Midland Daily News, ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross chastises Susan Dusseau, executive director of Cancer Services of Midland, for citing misleading information on the alleged adverse health effects of smokeless tobacco. In her recent article, entitled Smokeless tobacco the new norm?, Dusseau condemned the use of such products and inaccurately stated that they target teens, when, in fact, they do not as Dr. Ross is quick to point out:
Two drugs used to help people stop smoking varenicline (Chantix) and bupropion (Zyban) carry a significantly increased risk of depression and suicidal or self-injurious behavior, according to a new study published in the Public Library of Science.
ACSH applauds a new initiative in the city of Owensboro, Kentucky, that aims to save lives by promoting the use of smokeless tobacco as a less risky alternative to smoking.
Two recent news stories take a look at innovative means of handling the serious nicotine addiction that haunts cigarette smokers. The first, a New York Magazine feature that gives its readers the lowdown on e-cigarettes, conveys much of what anyone trying to quit cigarettes should know about this option.
The illicit tobacco trade is running rampant, say some members of Congress, and they re introducing the aptly named Smuggled Tobacco Prevention (STOP) Act as a solution to this black market business. Cosponsored by an additional 118 members of the House of Representatives, the STOP Act hopes to recoup at least $5 billion in lost tobacco tax revenues while also keeping contraband cigarettes off the market. In order to accomplish this, all tobacco products manufactured in or imported to the U.S. would contain a unique identification code that would provide officials with useful tracking information in order to distinguish real tax markings from counterfeit ones.
In other tobacco-related news, four U.S. senators have sent a letter to the Major League Baseball players union, asking them to agree to a ban on chewing tobacco during baseball s World Series, which begins tonight with Texas visiting St. Louis. Along with other health officials, the senators explained why such a ban is necessary: When players use smokeless tobacco, they endanger not only their own health, but also the health of millions of children who follow their example.