Tag Archives: smoking

The Associated Press reports: Under a Massachusetts law signed in 2018, the age to buy any tobacco product — including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes — was raised to 21. Massachusetts also has banned the sale of all flavored tobacco products in an effort to reduce youth interest in nicotine. The new proposal, which lawmakers plan to file next year, would …

CNN reports: The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a challenge from major tobacco companies to the FDA’s requirement that they place graphic health warnings on cigarette packages and in advertisements. The FDA issued a rule in 2020 that requires health warnings on cigarette packages and in advertisements, occupying the top 50% of the area on the front and back …

The Associated Press reports: The British government’s plan for a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking cleared its first hurdle in Parliament on Tuesday despite vocal opposition from within Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party. The bill, a key policy announced by Sunak last year, would make it illegal to sell tobacco products to …

Reuters reports: E-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc has agreed to pay $462 million to settle claims by six U.S. states including New York and California that it unlawfully marketed its addictive products to minors, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. With the deal, Juul will have settled with 45 states for more than $1 billion. The company …

ABC News reports: One of the world’s strictest anti-tobacco laws has been imposed in Mexico, setting in force a total ban on smoking in public places, including hotels, beaches and parks. The new law, which is part of the country’s General Law for Tobacco Control reform, came into force on Sunday. It will also see the total ban on the …

Mediaite reports: “Smoke ’em if you got ’em.” That’s not just the name of a 2004 Cypress Hill EP but also apparently the new rule in the GOP-controlled House. Republican members are lighting up their cigars in Congressional offices — and driving members of the press corps “insane in the brain” with the smell. An executive order signed by President …

Reuters reports: Future generations of New Zealanders will be banned from purchasing tobacco as part of a package of new anti-smoking laws that passed parliament on Tuesday and are among the most strict in the world. The suite of new laws include bans on selling tobacco to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, punishable by fines up to …

The New York Times reports: Juul Labs has tentatively agreed to pay $438.5 million to settle an investigation by nearly three dozen states that focused on the company’s sales and marketing practices that they claim fueled the teenage vaping crisis. The investigation found that the company appealed to young people by hiring young models, using social media to court teenagers …

The Washington Post reports: The Food and Drug Administration authorized a set of e-cigarette products for sale in the United States for the first time on Tuesday after it concluded that the benefit to adult cigarette smokers outweighed the risk posed to young people. The authorization of an e-cigarette device and two accompanying nicotine cartridge products, which are sold under …

USA Today reports: Pfizer is voluntarily recalling all lots of its popular anti-smoking drug Chantix for high levels of nitrosamine, which can increase the risk of cancer. According to the notice posted on the Food and Drug Administration website, the recall is for all lots of 0.5 mg and 1 mg varenicline tablets. The recall notice says that long-term ingestion …

Gothamist reports: For years, New York City and state lawmakers have been working to make it harder and more expensive for residents to smoke. A public health group is now laying out an ambitious goal: Ending the sale of smokable tobacco products altogether. The New York State Public Health Association is among 148 organizations worldwide that signed onto a statement …

NBC News reports: The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday it will begin the process of banning menthol tobacco cigarettes, as well as all flavored cigars — a move heralded as one expected to improve the health of groups most likely to smoke menthol products, including children and Black Americans. “With these actions, the FDA will help significantly reduce youth …

Pittsburgh’s CBS News affiliate reports: Smokers are now among a new group of Pennsylvanians at the front of the line to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The Pennsylvania Department of Health includes smoking on its list of qualifying conditions for those a part of Priority Group 1A. The department said in part: “Pennsylvania has chosen to follow the CDC’s recommendations and …

The Los Angeles Times reports: Days after concerns over youth vaping led the Trump administration to announce a partial ban on many e-cigarette pods, California lawmakers on Monday introduced a much stronger measure to outlaw store sales of all flavored tobacco products. The proposal would go far beyond the federal government’s plan, announced Thursday, for a temporary ban on many …

Axios reports: U-Haul will not hire people who use nicotine products in 21 states beginning Feb. 1 in an attempt “to establish one of the healthiest corporate cultures in the U.S. and Canada,” the company announced in a statement. The ACLU considers anti-nicotine hiring policies “discriminatory” and a violation of worker privacy, but smokers are not a protected class under …

As of today, the new smoking age is in effect: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has officially raised the legal age to buy tobacco products in the United States from 18 to 21. The move applies to all tobacco products, e-cigarettes and vaping cartridges, and comes after President Trump last week signed a $1.4 trillion spending package that included …

Agence France-Press reports: The US Congress voted Thursday to raise the minimum age to buy tobacco and e-cigarettes from 18 to 21 across the country, a move intended to stem the rising tide of youth vaping. Passed by the Senate as part of a wider budgetary bill, it will take effect next year and will mean that tobacco and e-cigarettes …

Politico reports: Congress is on the verge of a sweeping health care reform: Federally prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to people under 21. The legislation significantly raising the age cap on cigarettes and e-cigarettes is increasingly likely to be included in the year-end spending deal, the result of support from a diverse coalition of lawmakers, according to four people …

Axios reports: New data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey show that 6.2 million middle school and high school students use tobacco, the highest level since 2000. Why it matters: Tobacco use among middle schoolers and high schoolers remains high thanks to the popularity of e-cigarettes. Health advocates and some states are blaming misleading advertising, media and inconspicuous vape devices …

NBC News reports: A Florida jury has awarded a gay man more than $157 million in a wrongful death lawsuit after his husband died from lung cancer caused by smoking cigarettes, in what an attorney said is the first such case involving a same-sex married couple. Edward Caprio was diagnosed in 1996 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It would be …