Thinking 'bout THR News & Views
December 18-21, 2024
Seeking hope.
The public health conversation continues to be fragmented. It seems to be torn into smaller and smaller pieces instead of being glued back together so that everyone involved can see the whole picture.
I wanted the last couple of newsletters of the year to be filled with hope and an optimistic look into the future of harm reduction.
Damn, it’s tough to feel optimistic! I hope 2025 makes more progress in saving lives than 2024.
I sit here and weep, thinking of all the people who died from smoking. This is a time of year when many families gather for religious and ethnic dates of significance. My tears flow for all the empty chairs—the millions of broken hearts.
I hear that the 200th firebombing has occurred in Australia. How long do we wait for a failed policy to do something other than fail?
There are still many who champion solely for preventing youth use. In contrast, others only talk about adult smoking cessation.
Why does it have to be a choice of one over the other? Why does it have to end with results like this: Senator Tammy Tyrell - My Partner Can't Get Vapes And Is Smoking Again.
I am sad, angry, and frustrated. I thought we’d do better this year and make more progress in saving lives.
I feel so powerless today.
Until next time…
PS: To those of you who cannot be with someone you love, I hold you close to my heart. I can’t say I know how you feel because no two people experience pain in precisely the same way, but I do know that pain can make this time of year harder than other parts of the year. I send you my love and support. And the gentlest of hugs filled with caring and strength.
Federal Circuit Affirms $95 Million Verdict in E-Cigarette Patent Battle Between Altria and Reynolds.
RI's flavored vape ban survives legal challenge for now. Here's what to know.
A grilled cheese sandwich toasted to perfection and a cup of cream of tomato soup on a cold winter day.
A person living next door to the group home saw me slip and fall while shoveling the driveway. They came over to make sure I was OK and told me to go back inside, where it was warm, while they shoveled for me.
A toddler at the gas station ran up to me and hugged my leg. Then, they looked up, smiled sweetly, and waddled off to the candy aisle to beg their mom for a treat. I don’t know who the people are, and I have no idea why the child picked me. But at that moment, a hug was what I needed, and life sent one my way.
Why We Can’t Rely on Science Alone to Make Public Health Decisions. “When these values-based decisions are particularly difficult or uncomfortable to face, science can also serve to misdirect the public—intentionally or not—when presented in isolation from the tradeoffs at hand.”
This is a shameless mention of one of my posts. When I’m not reminding people to #BeKind, I often preach #SupportNotStigma. Oh, Wait! If we’re not stigmatizing people, we are being kinder to them. “Here are some thoughts I'd like to share with the CDC.” (thread)
Behavioural Research UK: Public engagement in research and policy.
FDA Tobacco Rulemaking 101 - How does FDA make rules about tobacco products?
New Study: Teen Drug Use Declines, but Nicotine Pouches on the Rise.
US Tobacco 21 Policies and Potential Mortality Reductions by State.
Reported use of most drugs among adolescents remained low in 2024.
Dartmouth-led Study Shows E-Cigarette Switching Can Ease Respiratory Symptoms. “The team found that only those who switched completely to e-cigarettes had a lower risk of developing respiratory symptoms and a higher likelihood that previous symptoms, if present, would go away. In both cases, complete switchers had about the same respiratory symptom risk as people who quit using tobacco entirely.”
Clay County bans sale of flavored tobacco products. “The ordinance allows for the continued sale of menthol cigarettes, flavored chewing tobacco and nicotine pouches. Commissioners declined to pass a more restrictive option that would have included menthol.”
Rock Island Extends Ban On New Vape Shops Through The End Of June 2025. “In October, the city said would pause any new vape businesses through the end of this year.”
Most US teens are abstaining from drinking, smoking and marijuana, survey says. “About two-thirds of 12th graders this year said they hadn’t used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days. That’s the largest proportion abstaining since the annual survey started measuring abstinence in 2017.”
Needham adopts ‘endgame’ tobacco product ban. “The Board of Health voted unanimously on Dec. 13 to make Needham the 12th Massachusetts community to adopt an “age-gated” tobacco ban policy that will not allow the sale of nicotine products to individuals born after Jan. 1, 2004.”
Smoke And Mirrors: Truth Initiative Conceals Benefits Of Vaping. “Teen vaping and smoking have dropped precipitously. Adult vaping is increasing while adult smoking is falling. Flavored vapes are the most popular options on the market, and tax hikes on these products encourage adults to return to cigarettes.”
The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC): A Flawed Approach to Global Tobacco Control. “The FCTC has succeeded in drawing global attention to the tobacco epidemic, but its refusal to evolve with the evidence limits its effectiveness. By ignoring harm reduction strategies like vaping and smokeless tobacco, failing to address economic realities, and perpetuating stigma, the treaty risks prolonging the very crisis it seeks to solve.”
Philip Morris Boss Sees No Easy Way to Keep Minors From Nicotine. “Philip Morris still has a long way to go before it sells its last pack, Olczak sees the launch of IQOS in the US and a surge in Zyn sales as an opportunity to step in the right direction. “The destination is a given,” he reflected. “It’s written on the wall.”
(Note: you can not “smoke” a vape! Why do articles say things like “…while one in 10 young adults now smoke e-cigarettes or vapes.”) The “Truth” is that anti-vaping campaigns are ineffective. “There may not be a generation displaying the effects of long-term vape use. However, there is proof from the failures of other drug campaigns like D.A.R.E. that the moral approach does not work.”
More news: FDA CTP, Vapers Digest Dec 18 and Dec 20.
Notes:
I create these newsletters as a personal project. They are not affiliated with any current or past employers or groups I do volunteer work with. I receive no financial compensation for my efforts to create these newsletters.
My blog, Skip's Corner, has an X/Twitter account. My personal accounts are on BlueSky, LinkedIn, and X (Twitter).