July 20, 2018
Tarik Benmarhnia and colleagues recently published “Can e-Cigarettes and Pharmaceutical Aids Increase Smoking Cessation and Reduce Cigarette Consumption? Findings from a Nationally Representative Cohort of American Smokers” in American Journal of Epidemiology. Using the large longitudinal FDA/NIDA PATH dataset they found that, among people trying to stop smoking cigarettes, e-cigarette users were more successful than non-e-cigarette users. They also found no significant difference in quitting cigarettes between smokers who were using e-cigarettes and using FDA-approved therapies.
Simon Chapman pointed out to me that those who didn’t use e-cigarettes or FDA-approved methods were more likely to have stopped all tobacco than those using the other products.
July 16, 2018
Scott Weaver and his colleagues at Georgia State University recently published “Are electronic nicotine delivery systems helping cigarette smokers quit? Evidence from a prospective cohort study of U.S. adult smokers, 2015-2016” in PLOS One. They collected a very thorough set of data on all aspects of e-cigarette use and smoking cessation, including a wide range of measures on the smokers’ behavior, motivation to quit, and addiction level, as well as details on the kind of e-cigarettes they used (including flavors) and details of the use pattern. Participants were followed for one year after enrollment.
The bottom line: Smokers who used e-cigarettes quit smoking at half the rate of smokers who did not use e-cigarettes (9.4% among e-cig users vs. 18.9% among those who didn’t). The kind of product and intensity of use did not affect the results, nor did the presence of flavors.
Here is the abstract:
July 12, 2018
My collegaues and I submitted this public comment to the FDA. The tracking number is 1k2-948f-eubg and a PDF of the comment is here.
Tobacco Product Standard for Nicotine Level of Combusted Cigarettes: Protecting Against Unintended Consequences by Expanding the Scope of the Rule to All Inhaled Recreational Nicotine Products
Docket No. FDA-2017-N-6189
July 12, 2018
My colleagues and I have submitted this public comment to the FDA. The tracking number is 1k2-948f-o533 and a PDF of the comment is available here.
Tobacco Product Standard for Nicotine Level:
The FDA Should Set a Nicotine Level to be Achieved in a Single Step for All Combusted Tobacco Products
Docket No. FDA-2017-N-6189
July 12, 2018
My collegaues at UCSF and I just submitted this public comment to the FDA. The tracking number is 1k2-948f-bnar ; a PDF of the comment is available here.
Regulation of “Premium” Cigars