Harm Reduction

The results of a survey on substance use among U.S. teenagers were released yesterday. The survey, conducted by the University of Michigan for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, found that smoking and alcohol consumption are historically low among this demographic but marijuana use is more common than it has been in three decades. The national survey included 47,000 eighth-, 10th-, and 12th-graders and revealed that, while less than 12 percent of them reported smoking cigarettes within the past month, nearly 26 percent said they had smoked pot within the past year.
The good news is that, in many states across the country, fewer teenagers are smoking cigarettes but the bad news is that many of them have begun to smoke flavored cigars instead. While flavored cigarettes were prohibited by the FDA in 2009, flavored cigars, including Black & Mild cigarillos, are exempt from the ban.
The executive arm of the European Union, the European Commission is, once again, considering an end to its ban on the export of Swedish snus to other EU countries. The Commission, which has considered lifting the ban several times before, has frequently been made aware of the comparatively low smoking and cancer rates in Sweden, the only EU country where snus (smokeless tobacco contained in small sachets) is legally available. However, the EU Commission may soon respond to the demands of its citizens: The results of a large survey reveaI strong support for lifting the ban on snus.
We re always eager to hear the results of smoking cessation trials, hoping for some rare good news on this subject. But the latest trial of nicotine therapy has us baffled. In this nationwide randomized clinical trial just reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers studied the effect of nicotine lozenges on smokers who were in a practice quit attempt trial. The smokers were not committed to quitting and were not advised to do so.
New York City s roll-your-own (RYO) cigarette shops are getting attention due to the city s attempt to end what they deem illicit tax avoidance by the RYO makers. At issue is the tax loophole that such businesses happily exploit: The loose tobacco they sell for their high-speed cigarette rolling machines is subject to only a fraction of the taxes that would be fixed on a commercially produced pack.
Today marks the 36th annual Great American Smokeout a yearly event sponsored by the American Cancer Society that encourages smokers to quit for at least one day in the hope that it will eventually lead to quitting for good.
More than two-thirds of American smokers want to quit, but only a fraction actually do, underscoring a need for more services, messages, and access to medications to help them kick the habit, writes Betsy McKay of The Wall Street Journal. McKay s brief article recaps this week s report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has found that, of the nearly 69 percent of adult smokers who wanted to quit in 2010, more than half tried but only 6.2 percent succeeded.
ACSH applauds John Tierney s column in today s Science section of The New York Times, in which he argues for the promotion of electronic cigarettes as a harm reduction method to reduce the tremendous toll of smoking in the U.S.
The FDA s efforts to mandate the display of graphic images on cigarette packs have been blocked by a judge s ruling. Declaring that the regulation violates the tobacco companies First Amendment right to free commercial speech and would likely be considered unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon stopped the regulation from taking effect until a lawsuit filed by the companies against the graphic images is resolved.
In a letter published in Michigan s Midland Daily News, ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross chastises Susan Dusseau, executive director of Cancer Services of Midland, for citing misleading information on the alleged adverse health effects of smokeless tobacco. In her recent article, entitled Smokeless tobacco the new norm?, Dusseau condemned the use of such products and inaccurately stated that they target teens, when, in fact, they do not as Dr. Ross is quick to point out:
Two drugs used to help people stop smoking varenicline (Chantix) and bupropion (Zyban) carry a significantly increased risk of depression and suicidal or self-injurious behavior, according to a new study published in the Public Library of Science.
ACSH applauds a new initiative in the city of Owensboro, Kentucky, that aims to save lives by promoting the use of smokeless tobacco as a less risky alternative to smoking.