July 30, 2018
July 26, 2018
Catherine Egbe, Stella Bialous, and I just published “Role of stakeholders in Nigeria’s tobacco control journey after the FCTC: lessons for tobacco control advocacy in low-income and middle-income countries” in Tobacco Control.
The paper shows that Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) ratification has not stopped the tobacco industry from using its well-established tactics to stall tobacco control policy in Nigeria. We used the Policy Dystopia Model and WHO categories of tobacco industry interference provide a helpful framework for analysing and understanding the activities of the tobacco industry and of tobacco control advocates in Nigeria. Despite strong resistance from the tobacco companies, tobacco control advocates were able to make some progress, particularly because they were assisted with international technical support and funding. These lessons from Nigeria are transferable and adaptable for other low-income and middle-income countries and African countries.
This is our third paper on the evolving history of tobacco control policymaking in Nigeria and, to get the most out of this new paper, it should be read in the context of the two earlier papers, which provide the historical foundation for this one:
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