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.
Read moreGermany’s Health Ministry is proposing a ban on smoking in vehicles carrying children and pregnant women, including the use of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and cannabis. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is leading the charge for this ban to protect minors and pregnant women from secondhand smoke exposure. The draft proposal, which will undergo coordination with other ministries before being presented to the Cabinet, is an expansion of the existing Non-Smokers Protection Act. In this article, we will explore the details of the proposed ban and its potential impact.
Read moreIn 2022, in accordance with the requirements of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (hereinafter referred to as the “FCTC”), the contracting parties took various measures to reduce tobacco demand, supply, and harm. These measures included the development of comprehensive tobacco control strategies, adjustments to tobacco product taxes and prices, prevention of exposure to tobacco smoke, strengthening of tobacco product flavors and nicotine control, adjustments to tobacco product packaging and labeling, enhanced regulation of novel tobacco products, and initiation of tobacco control-related legal proceedings. Stakeholders such as the World Health Organization, tobacco control non-governmental organizations, and multinational tobacco companies also took new initiatives. The global tobacco control efforts have shown continuous deepening of regulation for a wide range of tobacco products, frequent extreme tobacco control measures that go beyond the framework of the FCTC, and a shift in focus from formulation to implementation of tobacco control measures.
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