News & Insights

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission have jointly issued warnings to 13 vaping manufacturers, distributors, and retailers for marketing e-liquid with labels that resemble well-known food and candy products. The agencies say the e-liquids are a safety hazard because they could be mistaken by children for food or candy.

A federal court in Switzerland has overturned the country’s long-standing ban on nicotine-containing e-cigarettes and vapor products. Although the government was already planning to end the prohibition, the court decision allows retailers to now begin selling vaping products with nicotine immediately.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced actions that he says will prevent youth uptake of e-cigarettes, and hinted that more enforcement is on the way. Meanwhile the primary focus of the FDA effort, the popular vapor product JUUL, responded by largely agreeing with the FDA.

During a show about teenage vaping that specifically focused on the popular JUUL e-cigarette, On Point host Jane Clayson misidentified the host of YouTube vaping show Abby Vapes as a teenager. On Point is a nationally syndicated NPR program, produced by Boston public radio station WBUR.

Six tobacco control and medical groups have asked the FDA to “take immediate action” to protect young people from the rise in use of JUUL e-cigarettes. The groups, led by the Truth Initiative and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, have led a crusade for months to link JUUL to a supposed epidemic of teen vaping.

A study looking at 2015 data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey found that most teen vaping is by youth who are already cigarette smokers. 2015 was the high-water mark for teen e-cigarette use in the United States.

Anti-smoking activist Stanton Glantz, a professor at the University of California-San Francisco, has been sued by a former subordinate for sexual harassment. This is the second harassment suit against Glantz in the last four months. Both lawsuits also charge academic misconduct by Glantz.

Guest columnist Dr. Attila Danko explains how the tobacco control movement in Australia lost its way by transferring hate for the tobacco industry to smokers themselves and fighting a religious war on nicotine use that demanded smokers be punished for their “sin” with death and disease.