CADCA

Substance abuse treatments that target main issues such as serious drug and alcohol addiction are not frequently being used to also wean adolescents from tobacco, a University of Georgia study found.

Tobacco addiction in adolescents is oftentimes an overlooked issue because it doesn't carry with it the stigma that alcohol abuse and other serious drugs do, according to the study's lead author, Jessica Muilenburg, an associate professor at UGA's College of Public Health and health promotion and behavior graduate coordinator.

The American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout will be held next week on Thursday, November 19^th. Since its inception in the 1970’s, this event challenges smokers to quit using tobacco and triumph over addiction. The Smokeout draws attention to the death and disability caused by smoking and to the many resources available to help smokers quit. CADCA’s Geographic Health Equity Alliance (GHEA) would like you to join us and the American Cancer Society in encouraging smokers to make a quit attempt. 

Today, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro joined Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy to announce a proposed rule to make the nation’s public housing properties entirely smoke-free. HUD’s proposed rule would require more than 3,100 public housing agencies across the country to implement smoke-free policies in their developments within 18 months of the final rule. 

Read HUD’s proposed rule.

American adults who are uninsured or on Medicaid smoke at rates more than double those for adults with private health insurance or Medicare, according to a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Analysis by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that most teens who use tobacco start with flavored products.

“Consistent with national school-based estimates, this study confirms widespread appeal of flavored products among youth tobacco users,” the authors, led by Bridget K. Ambrose of the Center for Tobacco Products at the FDA, wrote in their study’s abstract.

Many youth said flavoring such as bubble gum, mint and chocolate was a reason to use e-cigarettes, hookahs, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and snus pouches, the researchers reported.

Every year, on the third Thursday of November, smokers across the nation take part in the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout. They may use the date to make a plan to quit, or plan in advance and then quit smoking that day. The Great American Smokeout event challenges people to stop using tobacco and helps people know about the many tools they can use to help them quit and stay quit.

Ninety percent of adult smokers began smoking during adolescence. Nearly half of the pediatric population is exposed to secondhand smoke. For these reasons, tobacco use is considered a pediatric disease. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is dedicated to addressing child health issues related to tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have published two new tobacco-related studies in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

An estimated 70 percent of U.S. middle and high school students who have used a tobacco product in the past 30 days have used at least one flavored tobacco product during this period, according to two studies published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in this week’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued orders that will stop the further sale and distribution of four currently marketed R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company cigarette products – including its Camel Crush Bold brand – because the company’s submissions for these products did not meet requirements set forth in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).