Save the date for 2016 UCSF It's About a Billion Lives Symposium: January 22, 2016. All are welcome.
September 28, 2015
It’s About a Billion Lives
Celebrating Tobacco Research and Education at UCSF
What will It Take to Transform the Prediction of a
Billion Deaths into a Billion Lives Saved
Matthew Myers
President, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
You Are How You Smoke: Implications of Different Patterns of
Adolescent and Young Adult Smoking Behavior
Lauren McCarl Dutra, ScD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education
Thirdhand Cigarette Smoke, a Persistent Environmental Contaminant
Suzaynn F. Schick, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Electronic Cigarette Use by Individuals in Treatment for Substance Abuse
Noah Gubner, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education
Implementing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control:
Challenges and Opportunities
Stella Aguinaga Bialous, RN, DrPH, FAAN
September 15, 2015
As someone who has been critical of the FDA for not making any meaningful decisions that actually affect the cigarette market, I have to applaud their decision to block Reynolds from marketing four products with menthol "flavor capsules" in the filter.
They did so by issuing a "not substantially equivalent" (NSE) order that concludes that these products are "not substantially equivalent" to products that were grandfathered into the market in the 2009 FDA law. The companies have been using the "substantially equivalent" loophole to market thousands of new products, so this is an important step forward for the FDA.
While the NSE order covers a wide range of issues, the FDA concluded that the addition of "a capsule containing menthol in the filter of the new tobacco product" which "allows users to choose whether to smoke the new tobacco product with or without menthol, effectively creating an adjustable menthol/non-menthol cigarette. In addition, non-menthol and menthol-smokers can share cigarette packs of the new tobacco product. As a result, this difference in flavor delivery system between the new and predicate tobcco products may influence consumer perception and use by providing users with a novel, versatile flavor delivery system."
September 15, 2015
On August 19, 2015, the UK Government issued a press release with the headline “E-cigarettes around 95% less harmful than tobacco estimates landmark review” publicizing a new report commissioned by Public Health England by and led by Professor Ann McNeill (King’s College London) and Professor Peter Hajek (Queen Mary University of London), extolling e-cigarettes as a harm reduction strategy and minimizing the associated risks. It was the claim of virtual safety, however, that attracted tremendous media interest.
The report immediately spread around the world, including being widely distributed to members of the California Legislature by tobacco industry lobbyists opposing proposed legislation that would have included e-cigarettes in the state’s clean indoor air cigarette sales licensing laws.
Many people emailed me for comment, something I could not do because I was off backpacking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with my wife.
September 10, 2015
On 8 September, opening day of the Toronto International Film Festival, the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit (OTRU) released a new report detailing the cost in lives and money when US movies with smoking are dumped into Canada’s youth market.
DOWNLOAD: Youth Exposure to Tobacco in Movies in Ontario, Canada: 2004-2014
Analyzing nearly 1,600 top-grossing movies released in Ontario from 2004 to 2014, researchers found that Ontario’s film rating practices make nearly all movies with tobacco accessible to adolescents.
• 90 percent of the movies were youth-rated (G/PG/14A) by the Ontario Film Review Board (OFRB).
• 86 percent of movies with smoking were youth-rated in Ontario, compared to 54% in the United States.
• Of 29,620 tobacco incidents in the movies, 85 percent were in youth-rated films, twice the number in the U.S.
• 89 percent of all tobacco impressions (an index of audience exposure) were delivered by movies youth-rated in Ontario, compared to 55 percent in the U.S.
Using US CDC models, the Ontario researchers conservatively project:
September 8, 2015
Stanton Glantz, Professor of Medicine and Director of the UC San Francisco Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education is seeking two individuals interested in conducting research projects related to tobacco control, specifically the influence of the tobacco industry on the scientific process, particularly as it relates to efforts to regulate secondhand smoke and cigarette design. Data collection will involve researching previously secret tobacco industry documents, written records, relevant laws,
conducting interviews and doing field research.
The successful candidate will either be appointed in the Specialist Series or as a Postdoctoral Fellow, depending on whether or not he or she holds a doctoral degree.
Appointees in the Specialist series will be expected to engage in specialized research, professional activities and do not have teaching responsibilities. Specialists are expected to use their professional expertise to make scientific and scholarly contributions, and may participate in University and Public Service. Screening of applicants will begin immediately and will continue as needed throughout the recruitment period. Salary and rank will be commensurate with the applicants experience and training.