Are Vape Aerosols Really Toxic?
The easy publication and wide media diffusion of questionable and unreliable studies is a widespread phenomenon that generates the misperception that e-cigarette aerosols are much more toxic than the evidence shown by well-designed and conducted studies. Soulet, S. and Sussman, R.A. Critical Review of Recent …
Call It Whatever You Want — Tobacco Harm Reduction Saves Smokers’ Lives
The U.S. desperately needs tobacco harm reduction, starting with reducing the harm from the pronouncements of federal officials. Case in point: FDA Commissioner Robert Califf’s April 11 tobacco testimony before the House Oversight Committee. Dr. Califf made so many false statements that I penned …
What Medscape Subscribers Really Thought About Its Tobacco Harm Reduction Programs
Earlier this year, Medscape, which describes itself as “the leading online global destination for physicians and healthcare professionals worldwide,” invited me to participate in a series of short continuing medical education (CME) programs on tobacco harm reduction (THR). Medscape clearly disclosed that the series …
Video on the Bad Science That Keeps Smokers Smoking, and Dying
I recently participated in a panel discussion about tobacco harm reduction (THR) at the Tobacco Merchants Association meeting. While assembling my powerpoint presentation, I recalled that I presented to this group 18 years ago, in 2006, what was likely their first introduction to THR. …
Timeless Knowledge from an Insightful Mathematician
I recently read on X (Twitter) a tribute to the book, “A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper,” by John Allen Paulos. The author is a professor of mathematics at Temple University, and his bio, here, is impressive. The book, still in print and available on …
Lessons to be Learned About Menthol from Lung Cancer Mortality Rates
For years we have seen a battle over the banning of menthol cigarettes. On one side are prohibitionists, who believe that society’s ills can be cured by proscribing specific behaviors and products. Opposing a ban are libertarians and those civil rights advocates who fear …
FDA Briefs U.S. Supreme Court on the Nicotine Brain Fallacy
Responding to a petition from the FDA, the Supreme Court agreed to review the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in the Triton case (formally known as Wages & White Lion Investments, LLC). The Circuit Court, sitting en banc, had found that the FDA failed …
No Guardrails in JAMA for Tobacco Prohibitionists
In the July issue of JAMA, Robert Jackler and Pamela Ling discussed Medscape’s agreement with Philip Morris International to produce continuing medical education on tobacco harm reduction. I objected to their screed in a letter to the JAMA editor, noting that Jackler/Ling made false …
Smoking and Vaping Prevalence Charts That the FDA and CDC Don’t Want You to See
My colleague and I have published a new article in Harm Reduction Journal entitled “Joint Smoking-Vaping Prevalence Rates Among American Youth and Young Adults 2011-2022.” This post is dedicated to U.S. federal government officials, especially at the FDA Center for Tobacco Products and the …
A Deeper Dive into High School Vaping from the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that about 1.56 million U.S. high school students were current users (i.e., past 30 days) of e-cigarettes or other vaping products in 2023. Although this number is substantially lower than at vaping’s peak in 2019 …
