Tobacco Center Faculty Blog

Public Health and Medicine Need to Respond to Cannabis Commercialization

May 20, 2020

Stanton A. Glantz, PhD

Candice Bowling, Amy Hafez and I just published “Public Health and Medicine’s Need to Respond to Cannabis Commercialization in the United States: A Commentary” in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.  This paper traces the entry of multinational corporations into the cannabis business and describes how current federal drug policy makes it almost impossible to conduct research on the products people are actually using.  The resulting information vacuum plays into Big Business’ hands because it means that most of the health “information” is coming from the companies who are profiting from selling these new products. 

We also highlight the need for health advocacy groups to more broadly enter the cannabis policy debate.  With a couple notable exceptions, such as the American Public Health Association and American Academy of Pediatrics, the silence of health and medical groups has left a vacuum that is being filled by cannabis advocates.

This is not an argument against decriminalization; it is an argument for federal policy to catch up with reality so that personal, clinical, and policy positions can be based on evidence.

Here is the abstract:

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AT&T puts the smoking back in Superman

May 13, 2020

Stanton A. Glantz, PhD

 

Who's the hero now? A smoking character in 2020's Superman movie on DC Universe

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) today issued this age-rating for a home video release:

SUPERMAN: MAN OF TOMORROW — Rated PG-13 for violence, some bloody images, suggestive material, language, smoking and brief partial nudity. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (#52714, issued May 13, 2020)

Superman: Man of Tomorrow is an animated, feature-length movie produced by DC Universe, a video-on-demand platform owned by AT&T’s WarnerMedia.

Write AT&T, the company responsible.We recommend you send a brief letter to:

      John Stankey, CEO

      WarnerMedia, LLC

      30 Hudson Yards

      New York NY 10001

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Smoking Makes COVID-19 Worse: UCSF Analysis Finds a Near Doubling in Risk of Disease Progression

May 12, 2020

Stanton A. Glantz, PhD

Smoking significantly worsens COVID-19, according to a new analysis by UC San Francisco of the association between smoking and progression of the infectious disease.

In a meta-analysis of studies that included 11,590 COVID patients, researchers found that among people with the virus, the risk of disease progression in those who currently smoke or previously smoked was nearly double that of non-smokers. They also found that when the disease worsens, current or former smokers had more acute or critical conditions or death. Overall, smoking was associated with almost a doubling of the risk of disease progressing (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.42-2.59).

The report was published May 12, 2020, in Nicotine & Tobacco Research. (A copy is available at this link.)

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Smoking Makes COVID-19 Worse: UCSF Analysis Finds a Near Doubling in Rate of Disease Progression

May 12, 2020

Stanton A. Glantz, PhD

Smoking significantly worsens COVID-19, according to a new analysis by UC San Francisco of the association between smoking and progression of the infectious disease.

In a meta-analysis of studies that included 11,590 COVID patients, researchers found that among people with the virus, the risk of disease progression in those who currently smoke or previously smoked was nearly double that of non-smokers. They also found that when the disease worsens, current or former smokers had more acute or critical conditions or death. Overall, smoking was associated with almost a doubling of the risk of disease progressing (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.42-2.59).

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Puff Bar continues to thumb its nose at FDA

May 5, 2020

Stanton A. Glantz, PhD

When FDA announced that it was going to clamp down on flavored e-cigarettes that are popular with kids, it left a couple huge loopholes, including disposable e-cigarettes like the popular Puff Bar even though Puff Bar is a big hit with kids.

Now, embracing the time-tested strategy of never letting a crisis go to waste and instead seizing the opportunity it presents, the vaping industry has swooped in with ads targeted at the millions of teens who are stuck at home and glued to their smart phones and computer screens for school, entertainment, and socializing. Puff Bar’s ads have been especially brazen.  For example, in April Puff Bar urged kids to “stay sane with Puff Bar this solo-break” since it’s the “perfect escape from the back-to-back zoom calls” and “parental texts.”

 

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