Biden to Announce Nicotine-Reduction Rule for Tobacco Companies

• By Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• June 21, 2022
• Full Page

A new rule that would require tobacco companies to slash nicotine levels in cigarettes could be issued Tuesday by the Biden administration.

The rule, which would have an unprecedented effect in lowering smoking-related deaths, would be unveiled as part of a compilation o...

Menthol Cigarettes May Hook Young Smokers Faster: Study

• Adam Kovacs HealthDay Reporter
• June 8, 2022
• Full Page

As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration weighs banning the sale of menthol cigarettes, a new study ...

Flavored Vapes Still in Stores Despite Federal Ban

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 28, 2021
• Full Page

Kid-friendly flavored e-cigarettes are still widely available online and in stores, despite a federal judge's ruling that should have pulled the products off store shelves by early September, a new report shows.

The judge's ruling follows on U.S. Food and Drug Administr...

Quit Smoking Before 45 & Wipe Out 87% of Lung Cancer Risk

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• October 25, 2021
• Full Page

Smokers who kick the habit before age 45 can nearly eliminate their excess risk of dying from lung or other cancers, a new study estimates.

It's well-established that after smokers quit, their risk of tobacco-related cancers drops substantially over time.

Researche...

Switch to Vaping Won't Help Ex-Smokers Quit for Good: Study

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• October 20, 2021
• Full Page

Smokers may think electronic cigarettes will help them quit, but a new study finds no evidence that's the case.

Researchers found that among Americans who'd recently quit smoking, those who were using e-cigarettes were just as likely to relapse in the next year as non-us...

Teens Who Use Pot, E-Cigs and Cigarettes Are in Triple Danger

• Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
• September 28, 2021
• Full Page

More U.S. teens use e-cigarettes, traditional cigarettes and marijuana together, posing greater risks to their health and behavior than if they used only one substance, a new study finds.

Called "triple users," this group score high on a profile of psychosocial risk, whi...

FDA Bans Sale of Nearly a Million E-Cigarettes; Allows Juul to Remain on Market

• Cara Murez
• September 10, 2021
• Full Page

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced that it had rejected the applications of nearly a million electronic cigarettes and related products.

But it also delayed a decision on the fate of the leading vape product brand, Juul, drawing an outcry from a...

No Change in Adolescent Drug, Alcohol Use During Pandemic

• Cara Murez
• August 24, 2021
• Full Page

The coronavirus pandemic has posed significant challenges for many, but it did not appear to drive U.S. preteens and young teens to drugs.

Repeated surveys of more than 7,800 10- to 14-year-olds between September 2019 and August 2020 found the overall rate of drug use r...

Heavy Drinking in Youth Could Harm Arteries

• Robert Preidt
• August 24, 2021
• Full Page

The arteries of young people who drink stiffen sooner in their lives, which could increase their risk for heart disease and stroke later on, a British study reports.

People's arteries naturally become less elastic with age, but certain factors -- including alcohol and to...

Kids Who Grew Up With Smokers Have Higher Odds for Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Robert Preidt
• August 19, 2021
• Full Page

While breathing in secondhand smoke is known to harm kids' lungs, new research suggests that children whose parents smoked are also more prone to developing rheumatoid arthritis later in life.

"Our findings give more depth and gravity to the negative health consequences ...

Vaping Just Once Triggers Dangerous 'Oxidative Stress'

• Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
• August 11, 2021
• Full Page

Young, healthy adults who try vaping for the first time may experience an immediate reaction that can harm cells and lay the groundwork for disease, according to a new study.

Just 30 minutes of vaping can increase oxidative stress, which occurs when there is an imbalance...

Parents' Pot Smoking Means More Colds, Flu for Kids

• Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
• August 2, 2021
• Full Page

Kids who are around people who use marijuana may be at risk for more colds and respiratory infections due to secondhand smoke, according to a new study.

In a survey of 1,500 parents and caregivers, those who regularly smoked or vaped marijuana reported more respiratory v...

Addictive, Harmful Vaping Is Super Cool on TikTok

• Cara Murez
• July 27, 2021
• Full Page

Watch videos on TikTok and you're likely to see plenty of positive portrayals of vaping, a new study shows.

And that's a problem, according to researchers, who call for tighter regulation of the platform popular with kids and teens.

"Viewing other young people, fri...

Even Secondhand Smoke in Pregnancy Might Raise Baby's Breathing Risks

• Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
• May 19, 2021
• Full Page

Infants exposed to secondhand smoke in the womb and early childhood are likely to have weaker lungs, a new study suggests.

The finding is based on levels of blood cotinine during pregnancy and childhood; blood cotinine is the result of the body processing nicotine. Harva...

Vaping Ups Teens' Odds for Asthma, Asthma Attacks

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• May 14, 2021
• Full Page

Though some think that vaping is a safer alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes, Canadian research suggests it could raise the risk of developing asthma or having asthma attacks for teens and adults.

"Emerging research really suggests that vaping may actually wors...

FDA Poised to Ban Menthol Cigarettes

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• April 29, 2021
• Full Page

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday proposed a ban on menthol cigarettes, a move that the agency has tried before and one that public health experts and civil rights groups have pushed for years.

Menthol cigarettes have been marketed aggressively to Black A...

Raising Legal Age for Tobacco Cuts Teen Smoking, Study Confirms

• Robert Preidt
• April 27, 2021
• Full Page

Raising the legal age for buying tobacco is effective in cutting teen smoking rates, a new study shows.

Researchers compared teen and young adult smoking patterns before and three years after a 2016 California law that increased the legal age for tobacco sales from 18 to...

A Plus From the Pandemic: Fewer Kids Using E-Cigarettes

• Denise Mann HealthDay Reporter
• April 22, 2021
• Full Page

There appears to be a silver lining to forced school and business closures during early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study: Fewer kids used e-cigarettes.

Compared to the previous quarter, vaping rates fell among 15- to 20-year-olds while widespread ...

Youth Vaping Triples Odds for Adult Smoking

• Steven Reinberg
• January 11, 2021
• Full Page

Vaping may not be a way for kids to avoid the smoking habit, after all. A new study finds that teens who start vaping are three times more likely to smoke cigarettes in adulthood than those who never started with electronic cigarettes.

Although the number of teens who s...

Smoking Plus Vaping Just as Deadly as Smoking on Its Own: Study

• Amy Norton
• January 4, 2021
• Full Page

Smokers who swap some traditional cigarettes for the electronic kind may not be doing anything to protect their arteries, a new study hints.

People who smoke sometimes use "e-cigarettes" in a bid to get a nicotine fix without inhaling tobacco. But little is known about t...

Vaping May Addle the Adolescent Brain

• Amy Norton
• December 31, 2020
• Full Page

Teenagers who use e-cigarettes may be at increased risk of "mental fog," a new study suggests.

The study, of thousands of U.S. teens, found that those who vaped were three times more likely than their peers to report problems with concentration, memory and decision-...

U.S. Teen Vaping Rates Are Leveling Off But Still High

• Robert Preidt
• December 15, 2020
• Full Page

After years of increases, nicotine and marijuana vaping among U.S. teens plateaued this year, but still they remain high, researchers report.

Data from the most recent annual Monitoring the Future survey, conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Res...

Teen Smoking Rates Drop, E-Cig Use Rises: Study

• Robert Preidt
• December 3, 2020
• Full Page

American teens' use of tobacco cigarettes and smokeless tobacco has dropped to record lows, even as their use of electronic cigarettes increased, new research shows.

For the study, researchers analyzed nationwide data on tobacco product use among 8th-, 10th- and 12th-gra...

Vaping Lures Teens to Smoking: Study

• Amy Norton
• November 10, 2020
• Full Page

Instead of being a safe alternative to smoking, vaping may serve as an enticing gateway to the cigarette habit for some teens, new research shows.

It's known that teens who use electronic cigarettes are more likely than their peers to take up the real thing. But the...

Smoking Bans Don't Work If Not Enforced, NYC Study Finds

• Steven Reinberg
• November 5, 2020
• Full Page

Although New York City has banned smoking in its public housing, exposure to secondhand smoke hadn't declined a year later, a new study finds.

The reasons might include delays in promotion and enforcement, researchers said. These include not putting up signs, training bu...

Parents Often in the Dark When Kids Take Up Vaping

• Steven Reinberg
• October 6, 2020
• Full Page

Parents are often clueless when their kids start smoking e-cigarettes, a new study finds.

On the other hand, Mom and Dad usually can tell if their children take up traditional smoking, said researchers from the University of California, San Francisco.

Havin...

Ban Menthol Cigarettes, Lower Smoking Rates?

• Robert Preidt
• July 9, 2020
• Full Page

Want to make smoking less attractive to young people? Try taking menthol cigarettes off the market, a new analysis suggests.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned flavors in cigarettes in 2009 because flavors appeal to youth and young adults, and the agency re...

Ad Displays in Stores Boost Teen Vaping Rates: Canadian Study

• Serena Gordon
• June 29, 2020
• Full Page

Canadian provinces that allow retail displays promoting e-cigarettes had nearly three times the teen vaping rate, a new study found.

Until May 2018, e-cigarettes weren't widely available in Canada and it was illegal to advertise those containing nicotine. When the l...

Up to 60% of Teens in Some U.S. Schools Used E-Cigs: Study

• Robert Preidt
• June 8, 2020
• Full Page

More than 1 in 10 middle and high school students in the United States used e-cigarettes within the last month, according to a University of Michigan study that found the rate in some schools is as high as 60%.

It also found that vaping is highest in schools with...

The Sooner Young Smokers Start, The Less Likely They Are to Quit

• Steven Reinberg
• April 13, 2020
• Full Page

Kids and teens who take up smoking are more likely to become daily smokers and find it harder to quit by their 40s, a new study finds.

"Based on our data coupled with a variety of other evidence, we found childhood smoking leads to adult smoking," said lead research...

Which Teens View Vaping as a Health Threat? Survey Offers Clues

• Robert Preidt
• January 13, 2020
• Full Page

Some groups of American teens are more likely than others to view e-cigarettes as a health threat, a new study suggests.

That list includes girls, whites, LGBTQ teens, teens living in the suburbs, and those from more affluent and better-educated families.

...

Vaping in Kids Under 15 'Skyrocketed' Over 5 Years, Study Finds

• Robert Preidt
• December 19, 2019
• Full Page

The percentage of U.S. teens who started vaping by age 14 tripled in recent years, researchers report.

The findings come amid a soaring uptake in the use of e-cigarettes by young Americans, and an outbreak of a vaping-linked lung illness that has sickened more than 2...

Youth Vapers Often Use Nicotine or Pot, Not Just Flavoring

• Robert Preidt
• December 16, 2019
• Full Page

Three-quarters of U.S. teens who use e-cigarettes are vaping addictive or mind-altering substances -- more than once suspected, according to a new study.

The findings add to growing concerns about teen vaping.

"We found that youth were more likely to report...

Secondhand Smoke Starts Kids on Path to Heart Disease: Study

• Robert Preidt
• December 12, 2019
• Full Page

Secondhand smoke can harm children's arteries, a new study warns.

Researchers used ultrasound to examine the carotid artery in the neck, brachial artery in the upper arm, and abdominal aorta right above the belly button in 298 kids aged 8 to 18 who were not smokers. ...

Flavors Draw Young People to Lifetime Habit of Vaping, Study Shows

• Dennis Thompson
• October 23, 2019
• Full Page

Tasty flavors entice young people to try e-cigarettes, getting them hooked on what can become a lifetime habit, a new study shows.

"Children and youth prefer sweet flavors. We know that flavors increase appeal to young or inexperienced users," said lead researcher An...