Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Judge Blocks Graphic Warnings On Cigarettes; Store Signs Get New Rules
A federal judge has blocked a U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule requiring graphic health warnings on cigarette packages and in cigarette advertisements that had been challenged by cigarette companies. U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker in Tyler, Texas, on Wednesday found that the rule, which was to take effect next October, violated the companies' rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by compelling speech. (Pierson, 12/8)
America’s big tobacco companies will now be required to produce and display signage in stores explaining the risks of smoking, the Justice Department announced Tuesday. The order was the last of a set of corrective remedies mandated by a 1999 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuit filed by the government. (Matthews, 12/8)
More about smoking and vaping —
A proposed U.S. federal ban on menthol cigarettes doesn't go far enough and needs to include other menthol products, from pipe tobacco to cigarette tubes, researchers say. New evidence shows both the appeal and the addiction potential of these substitutes in adults who smoke menthol cigarettes, said scientists from Rutgers University Center for Tobacco Studies in New Brunswick, N.J., and Ohio State University. (Murez, 12/8)
Babies born to mothers who vape during pregnancy are at greater risk of developing pulmonary dysfunction, according to a new mouse study from The Ohio State University (OSU). Researchers also found the risk of pulmonary diseases, such as asthma, continued into adulthood. The findings are published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, and the study has been chosen as an APSselect article for December. (Henderson, 12/8)
Penn State researchers co-led a large genetic study that identified more than 2,300 genes predicting alcohol and tobacco use after analyzing data from more than 3.4 million people. They said a majority of these genes were similar among people with European, African, American and Asian ancestries. (Henderson, 12/8)
