Too Little Known on Smokeless-Tobacco Risk

A key advisory committee warned the Food and Drug Administration Wednesday that little is known about the health effects of so-called modified-risk tobacco products, suggesting makers of smokeless tobacco and other alternatives to conventional cigarettes face high hurdles before they can market them as less harmful. The report by the Institute of Medicine coincided with another government-sponsored study showing cigarette use hitting historic lows among U.S. teenagers, even as more youths have turned in recent years to smokeless products such as moist snuff and pouches called snus. The FDA is studying whether to allow companies to advertise some tobacco products.

Regulate Sales of Electronic Cigarettes, Boston News

Boston city officials are stepping up efforts to regulate electronic cigarettes that deliver nicotine and individual cigars that have become popular with people looking for cheaper alternatives to discount Cigaronne cigarettes. E-cigarettes are battery-powered plastic and metal devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution in a disposable cartridge, creating vapor that users inhale. The Boston Public Health Commission on Thursday approved a proposal to immediately treat e-cigarettes like tobacco products. That includes requiring retailers to obtain permits to sell them, banning their use in the workplace and restricting their use to adults. The board also approved banning the sale of single-sale cigars by requiring that they be sold in their original manufacturer packaging of at least four. The rule becomes effective at the end of January. The board also doubled fines for retailers that violate tobacco control regulations.