News & Updates

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and its partners have released an updated version of their “Deadly Alliance” report about retail marketing and industry opposition to tobacco control. Tobacco companies now spend more than $8 billion a year to saturate convenience stores, gas stations and other retail outlets with ads and incentives to buy. The update [...]

An ASPiRE team that included Paul Delamater, Sarah Halvorson-Fried, Amanda Kong, and Kurt Ribisl examined the clustering of tobacco retailers near public schools. They found that tobacco retailers were closer to schools in rural areas, cities, and towns, and were more dense around schools in rural areas, cities, and suburbs compared to random locations. “This study provides compelling evidence that [...]

The Rutgers Center for Excellence in Rapid Surveillance of Tobacco is asking employees of middle schools and high schools to upload photos of tobacco/nicotine products confiscated from students. Funded by NIH and FDA, the center seeks to better understand emerging use of these products by teens. See a flyer about the project. [...]

A study led by ASPiRE’s Page Dobbs and Lisa Henriksen explored the effect of state laws setting the minimum legal sales age that also prohibit localities from enacting stricter laws. (Dr. Dobbs presented early findings at the May 2023 CAB meeting in San Diego.) The study updates the status of preemption in laws enacted in 40 states between 2015 [...]

A nationwide group of 31 tobacco control stakeholders participated in focus groups about the implementation, enforcement, and equity implications of the federal Tobacco 21 law. The experts had experience in policy, evaluation, and implementation and participated in focus groups convened in 2021. Participants shared insights from their communities and highlighted barriers to enforcement, saying current [...]

Recent research by the CDC and Truth Initiative looked at e-cigarette sales by product and flavor type from 2020 to 2022. Total e-cigarette unit sales increased by more than 46%, while shares of prefilled cartridges decreased. At the end of the study period, the five top selling brands were Vuse, JUUL, and NJOY cartridges, along [...]

Researchers examined the impact of state-level policies on adolescent use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) from 2013-2019, including smokefree laws and minimum legal sales age laws that applied to ENDs and tobacco excise tax laws. The study used data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health and the Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation [...]

As of July 1, U.S. tobacco companies Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds were required to begin posting signs at about 220,000 US retail stores that sell cigarettes. The signs will be installed near cigarette displays in these stores between July 1 and September 30 and must be displayed until June 30, 2025. The signs [...]

At its annual meeting on June 5, the U.S. Conference of Mayors approved a resolution supporting the prohibition of all flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes, flavored smokeless tobacco, and flavored cigars. Tobacco control advocates hope the resolution will prompt more states and localities to address the sale of flavored tobacco products, and [...]

The Public Health Law Center has released the results of its survey of current state statutes in the 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories as of June 15, 2023. The data covers the definition of “tobacco product,” taxation, product packaging, youth access/other retail restrictions, licensure, and smokefree air legislation. (Cities, counties and [...]