Center for Tobacco Products News

From: Washington Post/Health & Science

Goodbye to nicotine

As a former 2-to-2-¹ / _2-pack-a-day smoker, I thank the inventor of the e-cigarette [“E-smoking: Its safety is still up in the air,” Sept. 10]. I tried the patch, the gum, the pill and the hypnotist all before the e-cigarette. Even though I still crave the real kind, I haven’t put one to my lips in 19 months!  Pretty darn good! I have been using zero-strength [nicotine]  cartridges for almost a year, but do fear I am addicted to the electronic version, as it gives me the hand-to-mouth satisfaction and is constantly in my hand and mouth.

Editor’s Note:  The comments of NACS The Association for Convenience and Fuel Retailing in response to the FDA’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on menthol in cigarettes are attached here.  The Conclusion of NACS comments to FDA are reprinted below.

NACS encourages the FDA to undertake a thorough analysis of the potential for an illicit market, its potential size and the degree to which it would impact public health and jobs. We hope that the FDA will not be satisfied with simply receiving responses as part of the ANPRM process. Instead, we urge the FDA to assemble the responses of NACS and others to develop a robust research agenda into the existence today of illicit markets, the impact on youth smoking, the ingredients in counterfeit cigarettes and other issues.

From: WSILTV.com Your Southern Illinois News Leader

By Sam Smith

CARMI — When someone who smokes winds up in jail, they usually have to say goodbye to their cigarettes. That’s not the case anymore in White County. The jail now allows inmates to have electronic cigarettes.

White County has not allowed smoking in its jail since 2002. Sheriff Doug Maier banned tobacco products when he was elected. He says second hand smoke was a problem; the smoke would linger and he didn’t think it was fair to the other inmates.

From: The Daily Beast

Nick Gillespie, editor in chief of Reason.com

The anti-smoking movement is going after e-cigarettes, the harmless inhalers that help people kick the habit. Nick Gillespie on why their single-minded zealotry has gone too far.

H.L. Mencken famously defined puritanism as “the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” He might have been describing contemporary anti-smoking activists, that dour band of fuss-budgets constantly on the prowl for new ways to make life slightly less bearable by limiting the choices available to grown adults.

From: National Association of Convenience & Fuel Retailing

Employers must soon confront electronic cigarettes with clear workplace guidelines, writes an HR consulting firm president.

ZANESVILLE, OH – Electronic cigarettes are proving to be a controversial workplace issue, writes Jim Evans, president of JK Evans & Associates LLC, a human resource consulting firm, for the Zanesville Times Recorder.

“If not already, these devices will soon be coming to your workplace, and they will test the limits of your smoking policy,” Evans said. “If you’re an employer or human resources professional trying to stay ahead of the curve, it’s time to consider your organization’s position on the devices.”