Recent CTCRE Publications

California’s Central Valley has high rates of tobacco product use and low rates of access to healthcare providers, making it difficult for residents to acquire effective tobacco cessation treatment. To address this disparity, California pharmacists can act as healthcare providers, with the ability to provide counseling and independently prescribe nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) medications through a process known as “furnishing”.

After two years in development “Adolescent and Young Adult Tobacco and Cannabis Product Use and Co-Use”, a special issue of the Addictive Behaviors journal, has just been released.

Below are the public comments that CTCRE and other agencies have submitted to the FDA in regards to tobacco issues. This post is current as of August 19, 2025.

August 2025: The National Youth Tobacco Survey and Proposed Emergency Regulations Implementing Assembly Bill 3218

California’s Unflavored Tobacco List and its implementing regulations close gaps in federal and state regulation of flavored tobacco products to better protect health and facilitate compliance and enforcement

The National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) should be continued with consistent rigor, measures, and public access to data

November 2024: FDA and NIH Prioritization 

FDA, NIH, and other agencies must support research to increase reach and engagement in tobacco cessation interventions while also adopting comprehensive and integrated tobacco control policies that promote cessation to properly address health disparities among priority populations disproportionately impacted by smoking-related illness and death

FDA, NIH, and other agencies must address health…

Characteristics and Trends in Child Cannabis Exposures During Legalization in California uses data from the California Poison Control System and found that cannabis legalization in California led to increased moderate and severe cannabis exposure among children and adolescents. There was also an increase in cannabis exposure requiring medical attention, particularly among children under five, as well as in adolescents aged 12-17. Edible cannabis products, such as candies and baked goods, were major contributors to these exposures, most of which occurred at home.

Cigarette smoke-free home adoption attempts among formerly homeless adults living in permanent supportive housing found high rates of poly-tobacco use, substance use and mental health co-morbidities and that positive attitudes toward smoke-free policies are linked with smoke-free home adoption attempts and that serious mental illness is a barrier to smoke-free home adoption. The study underscores the need for interventions that address indoor tobacco and nicotine use tailored to people with serious mental illness.

Tobacco Use Patterns and Missed Opportunities for Cessation Treatment Among People Experiencing Homelessness utilized the largest representative study of people experiencing homelessness since the 1990s to estimate tobacco use prevalence and its association with shelter status, behavioral health, and health services use among adults experiencing homelessness in California to identify opportunities to address unmet tobacco treatment needs. The study was led by the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. 

Pharmaceutical companies have worked hard to protect their reputation by shifting blame for the opioid crisis away from themselves and onto individual patients. In the new article, “The Rise of Clinical Decision Support Algorithms in Pain Management, 2009–2024,” published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, CTCRE Fellow Dan Kabella, PhD looks at how digital tools like NarxCare play a key role in this.

NarxCare is a tool used in healthcare to predict the risks of opioid misuse, addiction, and overdose and to guide doctors’ decisions. These tools often put the focus on patients’ behavior instead of problems like aggressive marketing with the pharmaceutical companies. Using internal documents and public information, their research shows how these companies have pushed tools like NarxCare as proof they are managing the crisis. Instead of making real changes, these tools allow the opioid industry to define “legitimate” opioid use through careful prescribing and monitoring, while leaving the system that protects industry interests intact.

This article was co-aithored by CTCRE Fellowship Co-Director Dorie Apollonio, PhD, MPP, UCSF Professor Kelly Knight, PhD, and doctoral student Halle Young. 

Access the full article here

A recent publication by CTCRE fellow Allison Temourian, PhD, has been selected as the cover story for the March 2025 issue of Urban Science. Her paper, Citizen Science to Collect Tobacco Waste: Exploring the Usability of Two Protocols, evaluates the feasibility of two tobacco product waste protocols using a community-based approach. The study highlights the impact of adaptable methodologies that not only engage the public in meaningful scientific participation, but also empower local communities. This collaborative approach also serves as a model for integrating public participation.

Explore the full publication here.