Other Policy

Research

Geospatial exposure to point-of-sale tobacco: Real-time craving and smoking cessation outcomes
A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine explores the link between exposure to point-of-sale tobacco (POST) marketing and self-reported cravings among subjects trying to quit smoking. Over the course of this study, researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center tracked 475 participants geographically for one month and asked them to report cravings and smoking status in real time using a cell phone, producing a dataset of 12,871 days in total. Participants spent 87% of their time in the Washington D.C. metro area. Subjects’ locations were compared against a mapping of over one thousand identified POST sites. The researchers concluded that daily POST exposure was not correlated to cravings reported by subjects, contrary to what was hypothesized. However, POST exposure of subjects was found to be positively correlated with lapses in smoking cessation, meaning that tobacco advertising is nonetheless a barrier to quitting among smokers. The authors note that further research in this vein should take sociodemographic factors and the concurrent use of different tobacco products into greater consideration. Click here to read the study abstract.

Adult smokers' receptivity to a television ad for electronic nicotine delivery systems
A research team from RTI International examined the awareness and impact of a television advertisement for blu eCigs among an online convenience sample of 519 adult smokers from Florida. The majority of the sample (62.3%) was already aware of this advertisement or one like it, including 70.8% of those who reported prior electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) use. The advertisement elicited thoughts of both smoking and quitting in a majority of subjects. Overall those with prior ENDS use found the advertisement more interesting, persuasive, and relevant, but 66.0% of participants who were not currently using ENDS at the time of study reported they were likely to try ENDs after viewing the advertisement. The study demonstrates the impact of mass media ENDS advertisements among smokers. The authors recommend that future research should focus on the connection of ENDS advertisements and actual ENDS use, dual use with cigarettes, as well as smoking cessation. Click here to read the study abstract in Tobacco Control.

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National Policy

U.S. Attorneys General urge FDA to regulate e-cigarettes
Attorneys General from 41 states signed a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg urging the FDA to “take all available measures” to regulate e-cigarettes by the end of October of this year, the FDA’s deadline for proposing new regulations. The letter expresses concern over e-cigarette flavors and unrestricted marketing campaigns that make those products more appealing to minors. The Attorneys General also note that the price of e-cigarettes has decreased as their use becomes more popular, further promoting youth access. This letter was written less than a week after fifteen public health organizations, including the American Lung Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, wrote to President Barack Obama urging him to put pressure on the FDA to adopt these regulations. Click here to learn more. To learn more about the FDA’s current position on e-cigarette regulation, click here. Related: Seven ways e-cigarette companies are copying Big Tobacco’s playbook The Tobacco Unfiltered blog on the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids website draws parallels between past marketing techniques of cigarettes and current e-cigarette campaigns, such as celebrity endorsements and the use of cartoon characters in advertisements. To read the post, click here.

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International

Sweeping new tobacco regulations approved in Europe, including ban on menthol (European Union)
After an extended period of debate and tobacco industry lobbying, the European Parliament has approved legislation that will ban menthol flavoring in cigarettes and institute new requirements that warning labels cover 65% of the pack and include graphic visuals. These regulations will potentially take effect for all 28 nations in the European Union (EU) once all EU countries are able to reach a compromise on some of the finer details of the legislation. While this policy does not address e-cigarette regulation, something that the EU could implement later, the law has the support of the World Health Organization and EU health officials. Opposition from Philip Morris International, Inc. came on the grounds of economic losses and a failure to consider the opinions of European tobacco consumers. To learn more, click here.

Global tobacco control: What the U.S. can learn from other countries
The Tobacco Control Legal Consortium has released a new document that highlights ten different categories of tobacco control policy measures that have been implemented worldwide. The Executive Summary provides a brief overview of each kind of policy, while the full document goes into great detail for each policy type, discussing positive and negative consequences of the different policies as well as exploring the opposition to enacting those policies. The Tobacco Control Legal Consortium concludes that while recent policy efforts in the United States have led to decreased smoking rates, we can still look to other countries for examples of policies that might be even more effective at reducing tobacco use. Click here to read the executive summary. To read the full document, click here.

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