PACT Notes

April 20th, 2018

2018 State of the Air Report Released

For 19 years, the American Lung Association has analyzed data from official air quality monitors to compile the “State of the Air” report. This year’s report that found ozone pollution worsened significantly in 2014-2016 compared to the previous report, while improvements continued in year-round particle pollution and fewer episodes of high particle days.

To learn more about Pennsylvania’s “State of the Air” click here.

State Tobacco Control Expenditures and Tax Paid Cigarette Sales

A recent study published in PLOS one the first nationally representative study to examine the relationship between actual state-level tobacco control spending in each of the 5 CDC’s Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program categories and cigarette sales. Spending in the areas of cessation interventions, health communication interventions, and state and community interventions were found to have a negative impact on cigarette sales in all models that were estimated. This model predicts that states that spend up to seven times their current levels could still see significant reductions in cigarette sales. The findings from this research could help inform further investments in state tobacco control programs.

Leading Health and Medical Groups Urge Immediate FDA Action to Address Rising Youth Use of Juul E-Cigarettes

Six leading public health and medical organizations urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to take strong and immediate action to address the dramatic rise in teen use of Juul electronic cigarettes, which has been widely reported by media and educators across the United States. The groups that sent a letter to the FDA are the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Truth Initiative, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association and American Lung Association. Several members of Congress are also calling on the FDA to take action on Juul as well.

Untangling the Preemption Doctrine in Tobacco Control

Preemption can be a thorny issue when it comes to assessing a local government’s ability to adopt tobacco control measures. Preemption arises in different forms, and a locality’s ability to address tobacco may be preempted by laws both within and outside tobacco-specific legislation. This resource from the Public Health Law Center provides an overview of the troubling impact of preemption in the tobacco control realm, along with a description of several laws and court decisions in different states that illustrate the many ways preemption can hinder tobacco control.

Duke University, Which has a Long History with Tobacco, will go Smoke-Free in 2020

Duke University, and its Gothic-style campus built by tobacco money, will go smoke-free in 2020. In a letter Monday to students, faculty and staff, the university’s president, Vincent Price, announced a newly adopted policy that will prohibit the use of tobacco smoke on all Duke property and grounds starting July 1, 2020. Included in the ban will be cigarettes, cigars and hookahs but not chewing tobacco, e-cigarettes or therapeutic nicotine products. On-campus stores will stop selling tobacco products this July.

Reminder: Upcoming JUUL Webinar

This is a reminder about the upcoming webinar hosted by the Public Health Law Center about JUUL. This webinar will familiarize participants with JUUL, a relatively new, discreet, and best-selling e-cigarette brand that is very popular among youth and young adults. Policy, legal, and advocacy experts will describe JUUL and discuss concerns and emerging reports about youth and young adult use, ease of use without detection, potential health risks, and regulatory gaps and opportunities.

PACT Notes

PACT Notes – December 21, 2018

A new study found that increases in adolescent vaping from 2017 to 2018 were the largest ever recorded in the past 43 years for any adolescent substance use outcome in the U.S.

In just one year e-cigarette use among youth has skyrocketed, increasing by:
90% among 12th graders
96% among 10th graders
74% among 8th graders

PACT Notes – December 14, 2018

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark 1998 legal settlement between the states and the tobacco companies, which required the companies to pay more than $200 billion over time as compensation for tobacco-related health care costs.

The report challenges states to do more to fight tobacco use – the nation’s No. 1 preventable cause of death – and to confront the growing epidemic of youth e-cigarette use in America. In Pennsylvania, 8.7 percent of high school students smoke cigarettes, while 11.3 percent use e-cigarettes. Tobacco use claims 22,000 Pennsylvania lives and costs the state $6.3 billion in health care bills annually.

PACT Notes – December 7, 2018

This week Senator Mario Scavello (PA-40) released a co-sponsorship memo for Tobacco 21. He is actively looking for support in the Senate and plans to introduce legislation in the session starting in the new year. While PACT is still advising that advocates wait until the new year to start their legislative visits, if you have any connections with Senators you think might be interested in support please reach out to PACT and we are happy to connect them with Senator Scavello’s Office.