Ken Wassum, Senior Product Manager, Tobacco:   In a move that one cannot help but suspect is strategically calculated, Big Tobacco has filed suit against the FDA for restricting their First Amendment rights of free speech. The Congress passed legislation this last summer that gives the FDA the ability to regulate tobacco products, including how the industry advertises (Title II; Section 201; Sections a & b) their products. Given the track record of the tobacco industry of putting profit... [More]

Sandi Kaplan, MS, RD, Associate Director, Clinical Development and Support:   The Smart Choices Program is a great idea. A Smart Choice seal of approval, a big green check mark, is put on the front of any product that is a healthy option. You are in the grocery store and the check mark lets you know right away that the product is a great choice for your own health and the health of your family. It’s so easy and convenient to know which nutritious foods to choose. Unfortunately, th... [More]

Ken Wassum, Senior Product Manager, Tobacco:   It appears that manufacturers of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) have shrugged off the efforts of the FDA to limit access to e-cigs and to point out safety concerns (read final FDA Report here). One brand, Smoking Everywhere, has filed an injunction to try and halt the FDA’s authority to block import of these products, citing the FDA “lacks jurisdiction to regulate its product.” The FDA claims (and rightly so), “SE’s [Smoking Everywher... [More]

Ken Wassum, Senior Product Manager, Tobacco:   Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigs, continue to attract the attention. Those paying attention include smokers who are looking for a “safer” way of continuing to smoke, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who is concerned about the lack of safety data on these products, and, of course, ambitious entrepreneurs world-wide looking to make a buck or yuan. Let’s take another look at what we actually know about these products. Ma... [More]

Ken Wassum, Senior Product Manager, Tobacco:   Today President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, giving the FDA increased regulatory responsibility over the way tobacco is manufactured, labeled, and sold in the US. This was truly a historic moment and a meaningful first step to control the devastation caused by smoking in this country. While many tobacco control advocates wanted stronger regulatory oversight by the FDA, the vast majority see this ... [More]

Ken Wassum, Senior Product Manager, Tobacco:   Last week’s 79 to 17 vote enabling the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tobacco products was a historic moment. Forty-five years after the Surgeon General Report in 1964, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives in America. Notice I said “potential to save lives" rather than “will save lives.” We will have to keep an eye on the man behind the screen to make ... [More]

Ken Wassum, Senior Product Manager, Tobacco:   The recent increase in the Federal Tobacco Tax (62 cents), coupled with a price hike by the tobacco industry, is causing a lot of smokers to ask for help in their effort to quit smoking. This is bad news to Big Tobacco. Steven Stanek in The National Newspaper quotes Maura Payne, a spokesperson for RJ Reynolds, as “vigorously opposed” to the tax hike because it “will disproportionately impact poorer families.” Hmm….this is a population... [More]

Ken Wassum, Senior Product Manager, Tobacco:   Does the electronic cigarette, commonly called the E-cig, hold promise for a healthier alternative to smoked tobacco?  Or, is it potentially dangerous?  There is a lot of fuss about this product.  Some of it is justified and some of it is a little silly –well intentioned, but still silly. Those who support the E-cig say it provides a safe alternative to smoked tobacco, and they could be right.  They argue that since the product delive... [More]

Kristine Carabeo, Quit Coach, Service Delivery:   A recent report says that smokers should never use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), which includes products like nicotine patches, gums, inhalants, lozenges and pills, or else they will never quit smoking. When first seeing that headline, I thought that maybe the article would encourage more people to quit cold turkey (no quit smoking aids or medications whatsoever), which is one of many methods that people can use to quit. But ... [More]

Ken Wassum, Senior Product Manager:   Is that person over at the corner table at your favorite smoke-free restaurant smoking? Maybe yes…maybe no. A new product on the market is the electronic cigarette. Here’s how they work. Each unit has a cartridge containing nicotine and water, a heating element, and a battery. Most look pretty much like a real filtered cigarette. When you puff on the filter, the element vaporizes the water/nicotine solution and you take that into your lungs. N... [More]