updated April 23, 2024
Newton, a Boston suburb with a population of around 90,000, is considering implementing a generational tobacco ban that would prohibit the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 2003. This proposal comes on the heels of a similar ban in Brookline, Massachusetts, which was upheld by the state’s Supreme Judicial Court in March 2024.
Read moreA team of scientists, including a University of Massachusetts Amherst public health researcher, has conducted a major review of evidence and identified the three most effective strategies for quitting smoking: varenicline, cytisine, and nicotine e-cigarettes. The review, published in the journal Addiction on September 4, was led by the non-profit Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group (CTAG) and authored by senior author Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, assistant professor of health policy and management at the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences, and lead author Jonathan Livingstone-Banks, a University of Oxford researcher in England. Read more
A landmark clinical trial published in JAMA Internal Medicine has found that e-cigarettes are just as effective as varenicline, the gold-standard pharmaceutical drug, in helping people quit smoking. The study, conducted by researchers at Lapland Central Hospital in Finland, has the potential to reshape the debate surrounding the use of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool.
Read moreExposing children to secondhand smoke is a dangerous practice, yet many parents and adults continue to light up in vehicles with young passengers present. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, which can lead to both short- and long-term health risks in children.
Read moreSmokers in Minneapolis will face some of the highest cigarette prices in the United States after the City Council unanimously voted to set a minimum retail price of $15 per pack. This move aims to promote public health by discouraging smoking, particularly among youth.
Read moreCanada has made history by becoming the first country to require individual health warnings on cigarettes. The groundbreaking regulation, which took effect on Tuesday, mandates that manufacturers print warnings about smoking-related harms—such as cancer, impotence, and organ damage—directly on each cigarette. Retailers have until July 31 to ensure all cigarette packs comply with the new rules.
Read moreThe West Virginia Senate has passed Senate Bill 378, which prohibits smoking in vehicles when children under the age of 16 are present. The bill, set to take effect on June 5, recognizes a lit tobacco product as any lighted pipe, cigarette, cigar, or other device containing a tobacco-based product that can be smoked.
Read moreAs of 2023, Idaho does not have any legislation in place that prohibits smoking in cars when children are present. This means that parents and caregivers who choose to smoke while driving with young passengers face no legal repercussions for their actions, even though the health risks associated with secondhand smoke are well-documented and widely acknowledged.
Read moreNorway, one of the few European countries that still allows menthol and click cigarettes, is set to implement a ban on these products in 2024. The ban, which is part of the EU Tobacco Directive, will also prohibit the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, making Norway’s tobacco regulations more closely aligned with those of its European counterparts.
Read moreAs concerns about the dangers of secondhand smoke continue to grow, particularly for vulnerable populations like children and pregnant women, many European countries have taken steps to regulate smoking in private vehicles. However, the landscape of these regulations varies widely across the continent.
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