Californians have accomplished something that federal regulators have failed to — despite long, difficult campaigning. Voters in the biggest state in the nation not only have banned Big Tobacco from peddling its flavored products that target and exploit communities of color and the young. They also have defeated the industry in its legal challenges. Big….
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Big investors aid struggling vaping pioneer in $1.7 billion settlement
While regular folks will count their pennies and fret about affording gifts for loved ones during an inflation-plagued holiday season, plutocrats have given the hoi polloi a rare glimpse of the major loot they see in the business of peddling health-wrecking e-cigarettes and vaping. The concerning disclosures are emerging as part of the financial struggles….
Continue ReadingAs marijuana gains wide acceptance, new study details health concerns
Marijuana, as the kids say, isn’t as dope as users would like it to be. Instead, a new study finds that marijuana can do greater damage to humans’ respiratory system than cigarette smoking — a nasty habit that research also has proven to be a major cause of cancer, heart and circulatory damage, and other….
Continue ReadingBig Tobacco may talk of transitions. Its pursuit of profits speaks louder.
Consumers, politicians, and federal regulators should not make the mistake of thinking that Big Tobacco somehow will go, as the poet put it, quietly into that good night. The fortunes are still too big to be made in peddling products that persist as some of the greatest preventable threats to Americans’ health, industry players keep….
Continue ReadingNBA star has low-key, savvy, and compassionate way to help sick kids
College and pro athletes create feel-good moments in almost rote fashion these days with well-intentioned sojourns to local hospitals to see sick kids. These brief visits are an image-enhancing dream for publicists, teams, and the folks who drop big money on sports in hopes that fans’ adoration of jocks translates into major profits. For at….
Continue ReadingAppellate judges zero in on corporate twists of bankruptcy shield
Federal appeals judges have expressed skepticism about the scheming by Big Pharma and other big corporations to twist U.S. bankruptcy laws to let wealthy, powerful defendants shield themselves from major claims of harms filed by plaintiffs seeking justice in civil courts. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia has been asked….
Continue ReadingIt’s past time for Congress to reconsider propriety of FDA ‘user fees’
Members of Congress, as usual, are racing to meet a deadline: This time, to determine the funding for the federal Food and Drug Administration, an agency with some of the most consequential responsibilities affecting Americans’ health. In their furious political and financial machinations, though, lawmakers aren’t asking the tough, critical question about the FDA’s leading….
Continue Reading$439 million settlement shows Big Tobacco sees riches still in vaping
Parents, educators, politicians, federal regulators, and advocates for Americans’ better health all should pause and consider the prime takeaways from a company’s willingness to strike a $439 million settlement with three dozen states figuratively shutting a barn door long after the nag has bolted. Hint: Big Tobacco is relentless in its efforts to addict regular….
Continue ReadingMedicine struggles with hype, disinformation, and miscommunication
The quality of medical-scientific information is strained — and patients should know this, be warned, and watch for ways to protect themselves from bungled communication, bluster, hype, misinformation, and disinformation. Although regular folks may have unprecedented access via the internet to resources on medical services and developments, a trio of recent news articles underscore the….
Continue ReadingA top FDA tobacco expert suddenly quits — to work for Big Tobacco
The ink was barely dry on statements from the head of the federal Food and Drug Administration about a planned external, independent review of the agency’s tobacco oversight division when one of its top regulators created a personnel stink of his own. Matt Holman, chief of the office of science in FDA’s much-criticized Center for….
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