HOW COMPANIES LIKE PUFF BAR HAVE AVOIDED FDA REGULATION: “THE INDUSTRY CAN INNOVATE AROUND IT”
By CBS News, December 2021
“Nearly two years ago, the Food and Drug Administration banned flavored e-cigarettes, like Juul, citing their popularity among teens. But some vaping products have managed to avoid regulation by the FDA even as they grow increasingly popular among kids.”
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TAKE THE FIRST STEP TOWARD A NICOTINE-FREE LIFE
December 2021
If you or a loved one of ANY AGE want to quit smoking, vaping, or using tobacco or nicotine products, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health can help. Its campaign, Take the First Step, gives information about 1-800-QUIT-NOW, Massachusetts’ Quitline for tobacco/nicotine, encouraging you to call for support or to connect online at www.mass.gov/quitting.
You can take the first step toward a nicotine-free life by speaking with a FREE trained quit coach on the phone or online. No lectures. No judgments at 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
Please click here to continue to learn more!
FDA AUTHORIZES FIRST E-CIGARETTE, CITES BENEFIT FOR SMOKERS
By Matthew Perrone, Associated Press, October 2021
“The agency said in September it had rejected applications for more than a million e-cigarettes and related products, mainly due to their potential appeal to underage teens. But regulators delayed making decisions on most of the major vaping companies, including market leader Juul, which is still pending.”
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KIDS WHO USE E-CIGARETTES MORE LIKELY TO USE TOBACCO PRODUCTS IN THE FUTURE: WHO
By Partnership To End Addiction Staff, July, 2021
“Children who use e-cigarettes are up to three times more likely to use tobacco products in the future, according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO).”
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JUUL FINDS HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE AN ARMY OF REALLY RICH PARENTS
By Lauren Etter, Bloomberg Businessweek, May 2021
“If you want to turn a secretive hedge fund manager and his deep-pocketed allies into activists, hook their kids on vaping. An excerpt from the new book The Devil’s Playbook.”
“By the fall of 2018, a formidable group of wealthy parents whose children had fallen prey to nicotine addiction, from Atherton to San Francisco to New York City, were organizing in various ways to stop it.”
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FDA COMMITS TO EVIDENCE-BASED ACTIONS AIMED AT SAVING LIVES & PREVENTING FUTURE GENERATIONS OF SMOKERS
Official FDA News Release, April 2021
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it is committing to advancing two tobacco product standards to significantly reduce disease and death from using combusted tobacco products, the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. The FDA is working toward issuing proposed product standards within the next year to ban menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and ban all characterizing flavors (including menthol) in cigars; the authority to adopt product standards is one of the most powerful tobacco regulatory tools Congress gave the agency. This decision is based on clear science and evidence establishing the addictiveness and harm of these products and builds on important, previous actions that banned other flavored cigarettes in 2009.”
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TEENAGE E-CIGARETTE USE FALLS WHILE FLAVORS REMAIN POPULAR
By Angelica La Vito, Bloomberg News, September 2020
“In 2020, 19.6% of high-school students and 4.7% of middle-school students said they vaped, according to the National Youth Tobacco Survey, which is co-sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. Both figures are down from last year, when more than a quarter of high-school students and about 1 in 10 middle-school students reported using e-cigarettes.”
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Press Release, US Food & Drug Administration, July 2020
“These new actions are part of the FDA’s ongoing, aggressive effort to act against illegally marketed tobacco products amid the public health crisis of youth e-cigarette use in America. The agency is particularly concerned about the appeal of flavored, disposable e-cigarettes to youth and continues to monitor all available data.”
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By Tanner Stening, MassLive, July 2020
“The complaint, filed in Suffolk Superior Court on Wednesday, alleges that Puff Bar and Cool Clouds Distribution, Inc. continued advertising and selling disposable flavored tobacco products after they were banned in Massachusetts in November 2019.”
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MASS. BAN ON MENTHOL, FLAVORED TOBACCO (TOOK) EFFECT MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2020
By The Associated Press, May 31, 2020
“Mass. became the first state to approve such a ban when Republican Gov. Charlie Baker signed the bill in November.”
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THE SCARY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VAPING AND CORONAVIRUS
By Julia Ries, The Huffington Post, April 2020
“Research on vaping’s long-term health effects is still limited. But given what we know about smoking, COVID-19 and other respiratory infections, health experts confidently say that vaping will not only increase your risk of developing complications from the coronavirus, but will boost your chances of spreading it to others as well.”
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By Felice J. Freyer, Boston Globe, April 2020
“Attorney General Maura Healey and Massachusetts General Hospital warned that smoking and vaping may increase the risk of severe illness from COVID-19, in an advisory sent Thursday to medical professionals, educators, and parent and advocacy groups.”
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By Sharon Levy, MD, MPH, Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, February 2020
“Nicotine, the active ingredient in cigarettes, is a stimulant. Used in low doses like those delivered by combustible cigarettes, stimulants activate the nervous system, resulting in enhanced arousal and alertness. Nicotine binding in the limbic system — the part of the brain that houses the pleasure and reward center — releases dopamine, resulting in feelings of euphoria. These effects combine to give smokers a boost in their mood.”
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MASS. ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES JUUL FOR CREATING YOUTH VAPING EPIDEMIC
By WCVB Boston, February 2020
“This is the second lawsuit filed against JUUL by a state attorney general this week. The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office sued the company Monday over how its products are marketed and sold to teenagers.”
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TEENS FIND LOOPHOLE IN FLAVORED VAPING BAN
By Shelia Kaplan, The New York Times, February 2020
“When the Trump administration decided to prohibit fruit, mint, and dessert flavors in refillable cartridge-based e-cigarettes like Juul, it carved out a few exceptions to mollify the vape shop owners and adult consumers who complained. The much-publicized exemption allows menthol and tobacco flavors.”
“But a footnote on Page 9 of the new policy permits all flavors to continue to be sold in devices that cannot be refilled and are designed to be disposed of after the flavored nicotine has run dry.”
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MASS VAPE RULES ALREADY TOUGHER THAN US BAN
By Naomi Martin, The Boston Globe, January 2020
“Teenage nicotine vaping has exploded, with recent federal surveys showing one in four high school seniors used nicotine e-cigarettes in the past month. The rise came as thousands of flavored vape products emerged that youth advocates said appealed to children, such as bubblegum and cotton candy.”
“Officials said the policy was aimed at striking ‘the right public health balance‘ between curbing youth vaping and keeping options for adult smokers trying to quit combustible cigarettes.”
MASSACHUSETTS LAWS TAKING EFFECT IN 2020
By Melissa Simas Tyler, NBC10 Boston, December 30, 2019
“From a hands-free driving law to a law restricting the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products, Bay State residents will see changes in 2020.”
TOBACCO BUYING AGE HAS BEEN RAISED TO 21 IN US
By Jacqueline Howard, CNN, December 2019
“A new law in the United States that prohibits the sale of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21 is now in effect, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.”
RESULTS OF THE 2019 MONITORING THE FUTURE SURVEY – VAPING, MARIJUANA AND OTHER DRUGS
National Institute on Drug Abuse, December, 2019
NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow discusses mixed results of the 2019 Monitoring the Future Survey, with vaping of nicotine and marijuana rapidly increasing, but other drug use trends still declining.
MASSACHUSETTS ADOPTS TOUGH BAN ON FLAVORED VAPING, TOBACCO PRODUCTS
By Nate Raymond, Reuters, November 2019
“Baker’s administration beginning in September had moved to temporarily ban on all vaping product sales. That ban will remain in effect until Dec. 11 while new vaping regulations are adopted in light of the first ban passed by a state legislature.”
THE MASSACHUSETTS VAPING BAN WILL END EARLY, BUT THERE’S A CATCH
By Spencer Buell, Boston Magazine, November 2019
“It’s over December 11, but it’ll be a whole new world for e-cigarette users. Here’s what you need to know.”
MASSACHUSETTS GOV. CHARLIE BAKER SIGNS NEW BAN ON TOBACCO, VAPE FLAVORS, MENTHOL CIGARETTES
By WCVB 5 ABC News Boston, November 2019
“Massachusetts’ governor signed into law (November 27, 2019) a groundbreaking ban on the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products, including menthol cigarettes.
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker’s signature makes Massachusetts the first to enact a permanent statewide ban, anti-smoking groups said. “
By William Feuer, CNBC, November 2019
- The bill would make Massachusetts the first state to ban menthol cigarettes, which anti-smoking advocates say are designed to appeal to children.
- It would also impose a 75% tax on e-cigarettes and improve access to smoking cessation programs.
- Passage comes as a mysterious lung disease that U.S. officials have traced to vaping has sickened more than 2,100 and killed 42 people.
MASSACHUSETTS SHOULD BAN FLAVORED TOBACCO
Opinion: By Sarah J. Ryan, Boston College Freshman, & National Youth Ambassador for Tobacco Free Kids
YOUNG MAN’S NICOTINE ADDICTION IS SUBJECT OF LAWSUIT AGAINST JUUL
By Jon Chesto, The Boston Globe, November 2019
“A Taunton lawyer is suing the San Francisco-based e-cigarette company over its marketing practices, accusing Juul of causing 24-year-old Michael Glick to develop a severe nicotine addiction through aggressive efforts to get teens and young adults to start vaping.”
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE VAPE BAN
By Naomi Martin, The Boston Globe, November 2019
“Many doctors praised the ban, but some public health advocates warned it could encourage consumers to purchase dangerous vapes on the illicit market. Local vape shops and a nationwide vaping trade group sued the state, alleging the ban would financially ruin them and was unhelpful for public health. Four medical marijuana patients were allowed to join that lawsuit.”
VAPING ILLNESS ‘BREAKTHROUGH’ POINTS TO VITAMIN E OIL AS A CAUSE, CDC SAYS
By Erika Edwards, NBC News, November 2019
“Investigators tested samples of fluid taken from the lungs of 29 patients with vaping illness in 10 different states, and found vitamin E acetate in all 29. No other oils, such as mineral oil or plant oils, were found at high levels.”
E-CIGARETTES HURT HEART HEALTH, POSSIBLY MORE THAN REGULAR CIGARETTES
By Erika Edwards, NBC News, November 2019
“In two separate studies that will presented at the upcoming meeting of the American Heart Association, e-cigarettes use was shown to impact cholesterol, as well as the body’s ability to pump blood.”
Press Release, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, October 18, 2019
VAPING EPIDEMIC: INSIDE THE RISE & FUTURE OF E-CIGARETTES
VIDEO by Sunday Today with Willie Geist, October 2019.
“NBC’s Morgan Radford takes a close look at the state of vaping in the United States and the wave of young activists rallying against it.”
HOW TO KEEP TWEENS FROM VAPING
By Susan Newman and Phyllis Fagell, U.S. News & World Report, October 2019
“As parents and educators scramble to address skyrocketing vaping rates among teens, we can’t afford to neglect preteens, or kids 9 to 12, who are also increasingly using e-cigarettes as well.”
By Perri Klass, M.D., The New York Times, October 2019
“There are frightening numbers about e-cigarette use in the young, and increasing reports of serious illness, lung damage and deathrelated to vaping. What can we do to help an adolescent or a young adult shake a nicotine habit?”
FIRST VAPING-RELATED DEATH REPORTED IN MASS.
The Boston Globe, September, 2019
WISCONSIN BROTHERS CHARGED IN COUNTERFEIT VAPING OPERATION
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 2019
BAKER DECLARES PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY, ORDERS 4 MONTH BAN ON ALL VAPING PRODUCTS
The Boston Globe, September 2019
STATE SEES 38 POSSIBLE CASES OF VAPING ILLNESS,
The Boston Globe, September 2019
AG VOWS TO PURSUE PURDUE OWNERS
The Boston Globe, September 2019
WHY THE VAPING LUNG CRISIS IS EXPLODING NOW ACCORDING TO BOSTON DOCTORS
The Boston Globe, September 2019
The Boston Globe, September 2019
VAPERS SEEK RELIEF FROM NICOTINE ADDICTION IN CIGARETTES
NBC News, September 2019
JUUL CEO KEVIN BURNS TELLS CBS NEWS: I DON’T WANT MY KIDS USING THE PRODUCT
CBS News, August, 2019
Press Release, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, October 18, 2019