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Maine in 2017 had the sixth-highest rate of tobacco-related cancer cases in the U.S., and the 11th highest rate of tobacco-related deaths nationwide.
The tobacco industry has been preying on our kids, communities of color, the LGBTQ community, rural communities, and lower income humans for generations. The adult tobacco use rates in Maine are higher than the national average. And just over 30% of high school students use e-cigarettes, also known as vaping. This problem is urgent, and we have to act now.
As a former smoker, cancer survivor and caregiver, I know firsthand the devastation a cancer diagnosis brings. My original cancer diagnosis was thought to be metastatic lung cancer in the breast. It was that diagnosis that resulted in my quitting after 23 years. I also lost my mother to lung cancer.
News Service of Florida
The Florida House on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that would regulate the sale of electronic cigarettes and raise the state’s legal age to use tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21.
House members voted 103-13 to approve the bill (SB 1080), which passed the Senate on Monday. It is now ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
House sponsor Jackie Toledo, R-Tampa, said the bill is aimed at preventing minors from using electronic cigarettes. “This bill is necessary to stop youth vaping,” Toledo said.
But the bill has drawn opposition from some prominent health groups, at least in part because it would prevent local regulations on such things as the marketing and sale of tobacco and vaping products.
PIERRE, S.D. South Dakota residents might be seeing and hearing more appeals to sign petitions for a Medicaid expansion, because a pair of campaigns continue in hopes of getting the issue on the 2022 ballot. One of the campaigns is being led by the group South Dakotans Decide Health Care, which consists of a broad coalition of health providers, patient advocates and health-related organizations. .
FDA Moves to Ban Menthol in Cigarettes
April 29, 2021 The FDA said that within a year it will ban menthol in cigarettes and ban all flavors including menthol in cigars.
Menthol makes it easier to start smoking, and also enhances the effects of nicotine, making it more addictive and harder to quit, the FDA said in announcing its actions on Thursday.
Nineteen organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society, American Medical Association, American Heart Association, and the National Medical Association have pushed the FDA to ban menthol for years. The agency banned all flavors in cigarettes in 2009 but did not take any action against menthol. In 2013, the groups filed a petition demanding that the FDA ban menthol, too. . The agency responded months later with a notice that it would start the process.
Massachusetts menthol cigarette opponents praise FDA’s efforts to ban sales nationwide
Updated Apr 29, 2021;
If federal regulators have their way, 49 states could join Massachusetts in banning the sale of menthol cigarettes.
The Food and Drug Administration plans to introduce regulations banning the mint-flavored cigarettes over the next year, the Associated Press reported. The announcement comes after years of failed attempts to ban menthol cigarette sales, thwarted by tobacco companies and Congress.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law a statewide ban on menthol cigarette sales, which took effect June 1. Convenience store owners say the ban has led to spikes in menthol cigarette sales in neighboring New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Anti-smoking groups praised the new law, saying the sale targeted Black communities