The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Why Anecdotal Evidence Proves that Electronic Cigarettes ARE Helpful for Smoking Cessation
One of the widest scientific misconceptions about evaluating the effectiveness of electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation - and one promulgated by anti-vaping groups and health agencies like the CDC and FDA - is that anecdotal evidence is insufficient to demonstrate that electronic cigarettes can be effective in helping smokers to quit smoking. In fact, this is a widespread fallacy. The truth is that the abundant anecdotal evidence of e-cigarettes helping many smokers quit is actually sufficient evidence to conclude that e-cigarettes are helping many smokers quit.How can this be the case? Haven't we all been taught tha...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 24, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs

Why is the American Cancer Society Lying to Its Members About the E-Cigarette Regulations?
In an urgent action alert, the American Cancer Society (through its Cancer Action Network) is encouraging its members to write their federal legislators and demand that Congress not strip the FDA of its authority to regulate electronic cigarettes.The "suggested" letter which the ACS pre-populates for its members states: "Congress should not strip FDA of its oversight authority when electronic cigarette use by high school students has jumped to 16 percent in a very short time... ."This action alert seems to be clearly informing ACS members that Congress is considering stripping the FDA of its authority to oversee the regula...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 19, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs

American Lung Association Disseminates Negligent Medical Advice About Vaping
The president of the American Lung Association yesterday disseminated negligent medical advice regarding vaping through a tweet that included advice from six physicians.Each of these six physicians provides negligent medical advice regarding smoking cessation using electronic cigarettes.1. Chicago: This advice is negligent because it misrepresents the benefit-risk profile of electronic cigarette use for the individual patient. The physician is telling all smokers that the risks of trying e-cigarettes outweighs the potential benefits. But this is not at all consistent with the science. The science unequivocally demonstrates...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 18, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs

American Lung Association and CVS Health Campaign Downplays the Importance of Smoking in Preventing Lung Cancer
Ad Looks Like Big Tobacco Ad from the 20th Century The American Lung Association (ALA), with primary financial support from CVS Health (CVS), has initiated a campaign called "Lung Force." The campaign features a video ad with the theme of "Anyone Can Get Lung Cancer." Although the ad cites the fact that lung cancer incidence among women has increased over the past decades and mentions radon and air pollution as causes, nowhere in the ad is smoking even mentioned.I went to the Lung Force fact sheet on lung cancer and found that the #1 most important fact is as follows:"1. Anyone can get lung cancer."If you click on ...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 16, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs

FDA is Defending Deeming Regulations from Well-Placed Criticism By ... ... Lying
Last week on The Source, a Texas Public Radio news show, a spokesperson for the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) was confronted with a very solid and well-placed criticism of the agency's e-cigarette deeming regulations. The host asked her how she could defend these regulations in the face of uniform statements by vaping companies that "this is so onerous that this is going to drive them out of the business."In response, the CTP spokesperson defended the regulations by stating: "It's important to remember that we're talking about products that kill people."The Rest of the StoryLet's get the facts straight. Yes, it i...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 16, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs

First Lawsuit Filed Challenging FDA Deeming Regulations
Yesterday, the first lawsuit was filed which challenges the legality of the FDA’s electronic cigarette deeming regulations. The suit was filed in the D.C. District Court by Nicopure Labs, a maker of vaping devices and e-liquids. The complaint alleges that the FDA deeming regulations are in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the First Amendment. There are three claims under the APA:1. The FDA has interpreted the term “tobacco products” way too broadly and in a way which is inconsistent with the Tobacco Act. Nicopure points out that the FDA has construed the term “tobacco product” so broadly t...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 11, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs

FDA Regulations Present an Imminent Threat to the Safety of the Public: Urgent Changes are Needed
While I have already argued that the FDA deeming regulations pose a long-term threat to the public's health because they will result in the removal of most vaping products from the market (so cigarette sales will continue uncontested), today I explain why these regulations pose a substantial immediate threat to the public's health.As of August 8, 2016, no new vaping products will be allowed on the market. Because the FDA considers virtually any change in a product to constitute a new product, this means that the deeming regulations will essentially "freeze" the vaping market as it exists on August 8. From that date forward...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 10, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs

FDA Draft Guidance Confirms that Deeming Regulations Will Decimate the E-Cigarette Industry
ConclusionsI just can't go on any longer. And we haven't even come to the safety testing requirements. All we've done up to this point is found out what's in the aerosol of each product under various conditions. Now, we have to study the toxicity of each component of the aerosol. For each, we have to now conduct toxicology studies and possibly clinical studies as well. We also have to consider using "computational modeling using surrogate chemical structures" if we aren't able to complete toxicological testing of each constituent.And we still haven't come to the required assessment of the acute and chronic health effects, ...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 9, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs

My Interview on Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal Addressing the FDA Electronic Cigarette Deeming Regulations
Friday ' s Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal included a 4-minute < a href= " http://www.wsj.com/video/opinion-journal-e-cigarette-crackdown-damages-public-health/9C721197-F82C-4790-A7F3-01B752D8E8AB.html " > segment < /a > in which I was interviewed about the FDA electronic cigarette deeming regulations. (Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary)
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 7, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs

My Interview on Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal Addressing the FDA Electronic Cigarette Deeming Regulations
Friday's Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal included a 4-minute segment in which I was interviewed about the FDA electronic cigarette deeming regulations. (Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary)
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 7, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs

Kulik and Glantz Response to Criticism of their Paper is Censored by Journal, Undermining Its Own Conflict of Interest Policies
According to a commentary posted last week on Dr. Stan Glantz's blog, the journal Addiction has refused to publish a response he wrote to a critique of an article he and Dr. Margarete Kulik had published in the journal Tobacco Control on the "hardening" hypothesis of smoking cessation.Drs. Kulik and Glantz published the original article in Tobacco Control on June 24, 2015. In February 2016, the journal Addiction accepted for publication a manuscript by Plurphanswat and Rodu which provided a critique of the Kulik and Glantz article. Drs. Kulik and Glantz were therefore invited to submit a response to the manuscript, which i...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 7, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs

Kulik and Glantz Reponse to Criticism of their Paper is Censored by Journal, Undermining Its Own Conflict of Interest Policies
According to a commentary posted last week on Dr. Stan Glantz's blog, the journal Addiction has refused to publish a response he wrote to a critique of an article he and Dr. Margarete Kulik had published in the journal Tobacco Control on the "hardening" hypothesis of smoking cessation.Drs. Kulik and Glantz published the original article in Tobacco Control on June 24, 2015. In February 2016, the journal Addiction accepted for publication a manuscript by Plurphanswat and Rodu which provided a critique of the Kulik and Glantz article. Drs. Kulik and Glantz were therefore invited to submit a response to the manuscript, which i...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 7, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs

My Op-Ed in Wall Street Journal Points Out Folly of FDA E-Cigarette Deeming Regulations
My op-ed published today in the Wall Street Journal summarizes the reasons why the FDA deeming regulations make no sense from a public health perspective.(Note: There was one error - where it says "For example, R.J. Reynolds now owns Vuse" it should instead say: "For example, Imperial Tobacco now owns Blu.") (Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary)
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 6, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs

FDA E-Cigarette Deeming Regulations are a Disaster for Public Health
Ninety minutes ago, the FDA released its long-awaited electronic cigarette deeming regulations. Sadly, the "deeming regulations" would better be called "The Cigarette Smoking Promotion Regulations of 2016." They regulate tobacco-free and smoke-free electronic cigarettes much more stringently than real tobacco cigarettes, which the agency knows kills more than 400,000 Americans each year. And by essentially decimating the vaping industry, stifling innovation, and forcing dishonest marketing, the regulations prevent these much safer products from competing with cigarettes - the deadliest consumer product on the market.I will...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 5, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs

Harvard Medical School Teams Up with Makers of Bacardi Rum, Smirnoff Vodka, Jim Beam Bourbon, and Jack Daniels Whiskey, Providing Great PR at Bargain Rates
Last July, Harvard Medical School and its Cambridge Health Alliance accepted $3.3 million from the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility to create an endowed chair in behavioral sciences research at Harvard Medical School and the Cambridge Health Alliance. The Dean of the Harvard Medical School proudly announced the acceptance of this money and praised the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, while acknowledging a long-standing alliance between the two entities: "The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility has long been a strong supporter of the research program at Cambridge Health Alliance, ...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 4, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs