My latest for The Washington Times: Trumpโs FDA shakeup defends harm reduction over politics
https://t.co/rxp4GfqNN0 flavored vapes, Natural Kratom 7-OH, THC, it's all in there.
"The FDA has been notoriously reluctant to allow consumers access to products that could save their lives.
Flavored vapesโwhich, in fact, entice adultsโare especially effective in weaning smokers off cigarettes. Itโs little wonder why flavor bans, which make the experience of quitting cigarettes far less enjoyable increase cigarette smoking.
Until now, FDA bureaucrats opted to stick their heads in the sand rather than listen to the latest evidence."
Opinion piece by @RossAMarchand@Protectaxpayers
https://t.co/MkboB6Q6CI
Conclusions and Relevance In this randomized clinical trial of adults who smoke, switching from cigarettes to a 5% SREC vs a 0% SREC resulted in reduced exposure to some toxicants delivered by cigarette smoking and an increased rate of smoking cessation. ECs that deliver nicotine like a cigarette may have an important role in reducing the harmful toxicant exposure caused by cigarette smoking.
In this randomized clinical trial, switching from cigarettes to a 5% ECIG vs a 0% ECIG resulted in reduced exposure to some toxicants and an increased rate of smoking cessation at 6 weeks (36.5% vs 11.5%) https://t.co/SqdqwJ24UK
Marty Makary was the worst FDA commissioner in 25 years. Full stop.
I have covered the FDA for that long, and I donโt say this lightly. He was, largely, an agent of chaos because he didn't understand the agency he was trying to lead.
My story explaining is in the next post.
This captures their dominant strategic frame. Many releases are about Big Tobacco as a whole, flavored tobacco bans that cover both product types, or appropriations bills that fund all tobacco control work. This is honestly the most important methodological finding: CTFK's advocacy voice has shifted toward speaking about "the tobacco industry" and "flavored products" as a unified target rather than splitting by combustion type. 2/2
Over the last 3 years, .@TobaccoFreeKids public communications focused on e-cigarettes/vaping about 3-4 times more often than on traditional combustible cigarettes as a sole topic โ but the bigger story is that nearly half their content treats the tobacco/nicotine industry as a unified target rather than separating by product type. 1/2