FDA: Ban on free tobacco samples includes e-cigs

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized guidance Wednesday to make clear that it's ban on free samples of tobacco products includes electronic cigarettes. The FDA said in the 10-page guidance document that its ban on free samples of tobacco products applies to any tobacco product that is subject to FDA regulation, including components and parts of tobacco products like "e-liquids" [...]

2017-10-13
thehill.com

Thailand bans smoking on 20 popular tourist beaches

Thailand is to ban smoking on some of the country’s most popular tourist beaches, with the prospect of up to a year in prison for those caught lighting up, [...] The move follows a recent survey of litter on Patong beach, Phuket – visited by millions of foreign tourists each year – which found an average of 0.76 cigarette butts per square metre in a sample area, which would amount to 101,058 butts on the 2.5km-long stretch of sand.

2017-10-13
theguardian.com

Denver’s proposed 16th Street Mall smoking ban [...]

A proposal that would make the 16th Street Mall smoke-free isn’t about public health, opponents say, but about creating another means to push homeless and impoverished people out of Denver’s public spaces. The Denver City Council’s safety, housing, education and homelessness committee on Wednesday approved moving the “Breathe Easy” ordinance along for consideration by the entire council later this month.

2017-10-13
denverpost.com

The latest on smoking cessation in community pharmacy

Over seven million adults in England are still smoking, and the toll it takes is severe. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics estimate there were 79,000 smoking-related deaths in 2015. The resulting burden on the NHS is huge: in England, smoking causes 475,000 hospital admissions and costs the NHS £2 billion every year.

2017-10-13
chemistanddruggist.co.uk

Is it deception or evasion by FDA and NCI on smokeless tobacco?

“A majority of adults do not think smokeless tobacco is less harmful than cigarettes,” according to a study [...] Sheri P. Feirman and colleagues analyzed responses to a question in the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), 2012, 2014, and 2015: “Do you believe that some smokeless tobacco products, such as chewing tobacco and snuff, are less harmful than cigarettes?”

2017-10-13
rstreet.org

Let's ban all candy-flavored tobacco products | Jenice Armstrong

They are sold in brightly colored, shiny foil packaging with yummy-sounding Jolly Rancher-type flavors such as grape, mango, pineapple, peach, and white grape. HI-FI, 4 K and Game are some of the brands of miniature cigars, or cigarillos, packaged to look more like packs of Skittles than tobacco products. They’re easy to find, inexpensive, and sold in low-income, urban neighborhoods.

2017-10-13
philly.com