Addiction - Policy & Law
E-cigarettes went unchecked in 10 years of FDA inaction
October 15th, 2019 A decade after Congress gave the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco products like e-cigarettes, the federal government has repeatedly delayed or weakened efforts that could have protected teenagers, write Katie...
Lessons for South Africa from Canada’s cannabis legalisation
August 29th, 2019 Cannabis legalisation in my homeland of Canada has salient lessons for South African policy-makers. Aside from being sensible social policy, it unlocks new markets and business opportunities while raising tax revenue, writes Ed Stoddard for...
Prison for forced addiction treatment. A parent’s ‘last resort’ ends in suicide
April 28th, 2019 Robin Wallace thought years of working as a counselor in addiction treatment gave her a decent understanding of the system, reports Deborah Becker for NPR. She has worked in private and state programms in Massachusetts, United States, and with...Why the plan to legalise marijuana in New Jersey suddenly unravelled
All the elements for swiftly legalising marijuana in the US state of New Jersey seemed to be in place. A proposed bill was enthusiastically backed by Governor Philip D Murphy and had been endorsed by leaders of the Democratic-controlled state...Anti-tobacco advocates question McConnell plan to raise purchasing age
United States Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that he will introduce national legislation to raise the minimum age for people buying tobacco products from 18 to 21. Some anti-tobacco advocates worry that the plan could actually...
Tobacco sales could be phased out at New York state pharmacies
March 11th, 2019 The growing momentum to keep tobacco products out of pharmacies could result in a ban in New York state, writes David Lombardo for TimesUnion. Legislation began making its way through the capitol in late February that would prohibit the sale of...
Plan for New York to raise age for tobacco, e-cigarette sales to 21
January 14th, 2019 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan last weekend to raise the minimum age for tobacco and electronic cigarette purchases from 18 to 21, reports Morgan Gstalter for The Hill. The move aims to help prevent underage youth from...
Strong tobacco retail licensing reduces teen e-cigarette risk
January 14th, 2019 Retail licensing requirements in the US written with cigarettes in mind could be helping lower the risk of teenagers using other tobacco products such as e-cigarettes, writes Naomi Thomas for CNN. According to a study published this month in...It's time for Canada's government to stop withholding the truth from smokers
Good public health policy empowers people to make better, informed personal health decisions – rather than punishing them – write David T Sweanor, chair of the advisory board of the Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics at the University of...
Philip Morris sees governments revising e-cigarette ban policies 'over time'
November 5th, 2018 Government prohibiting of e-cigarettes and other products that offer healthier alternatives to smoking, is not a reasonable position, said Philip Morris International CEO Andre Calantzopoulos in a podcast interview with Bloomberg. He hoped...
UK lawmakers’ research finds antidepressant withdrawal symptoms severe
October 8th, 2018 Half of all people taking antidepressants experience withdrawal problems when they try to give them up, and for millions of people in England these problems are severe, according to a review of evidence commissioned by MPs, reports The...
Assuming e-cigarettes are equal to cigarettes could distort research – and policy
October 8th, 2018 'Cigarette' might appear in the term 'e-cigarette' but that is as far as their similarities extend, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. Assuming e-cigarettes are equal to cigarettes could lead to misguided research and policy...
New York City’s tobacco-free pharmacy law reduces retailer density
September 3rd, 2018 New York City's tobacco-free free pharmacy law substantially reduces tobacco retailer density overall, but the policy's impact is not evenly distributed across neighbourhoods, according to a study at the University of Columbia's Mailman School of...