FDA releases report on Menthol in Cigarettes- Public Comment Opportunity & Scientific Efforts

Posted at http://lgbthealthequity.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/fda-releases-report-on-menthol-in-cigarettes-public-comment-opportunity-scientific-efforts/ reposted at http://www.tobaccodeathray.blogspot.com,

Daniella Matthews-Trigg, Program Associate

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that it is issuing a 60 day Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to seek additional information (comments, data, research, etc.) from the public to help the agency make informed decisions about what, if any, regulatory action to take in regards to menthol in cigarettes. (Remember how Brazil banned flavored cigarettes including menthol? The FDA will be setting up a govt to govt conversation with Brazil!)

“Menthol cigarettes raise critical public health questions,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “The FDA is committed to a science-based approach that addresses the public health issues raised by menthol cigarettes, and public input will help us make more informed decisions about how best to tackle this important issue moving forward.”

 

The FDA is also making available for public comment their preliminary independent scientific evaluation (whew!) of the health effects of menthol cigarettes looking at initiation, addiction, and cessation: Preliminary Scientific Evaluation of the Possible Public Health Effects of Menthol Versus Nonmenthol Cigarettes.

Additionally, the FDA is currently funding investigator initiated menthol-related studies looking at;

1. Whether genetic differences and taste perceptions could explain why certain racial and ethnic groups are more likely to use menthol tobacco products.

2. Compare exposure to carcinogens from menthol and nonmenthol cigarettes

3. Examining the effects on menthol and nonmenthol products on tobacco addiction

 

And, stay tuned for an upcoming, FDA-developed youth education campaign for roll-out at end of calendar year with an emphasis on menthol!
(Check out the FDA’s full press release HERE)

*Read more about the menthol debate on our blog:
MARY POPPINS COULD TEACH US HOW TO REFRAME THE MENTHOL DEBATE
BRAZIL LEADING THE WORLD IN TOBACCO CONTROL BY BANNING THE SALE OF FLAVORED CIGARETTES INCLUDING MENTHOL
And, from 2011…URGE THE FDA TO BAN MENTHOLATED CIGARETTES SIGN ON TODAY HTTP://BIT.LY/PROTECTYOUTHBANMENTHOL
Also, there is an article in the New York Times about this!

Post from Dr. Scout and Network for LGBT Equity

Network Changes: Saying Goodbye to Gustavo & Taking a Staff Break

As I’ve mentioned before, we’ve now hit the funding gap between the current and the next health disparity network awards. As of tomorrow, the Network will no longer be staffed until we hear (hopefully!) that we’ve been chosen as one of the next round of disparity networks. We expect this news to come in one to two months. Until then, Scout, the stalwart Steering Committee, and Daniella will be checking in every so often to keep the dust from gathering. This Network started with the efforts of amazing volunteers, so this is just a bit of going back to our roots. Good news is we think we’ve submitted a very strong proposal for the next round of funding so are optimistic we’ll be restaffed in a month or two.

Sadder news for us is our project manager, the amazing Gustavo Torrez, has decided he’s heading off for firmer ground. I don’t think there’s a person who’s interacted with the Network who could fail to realize just what a gem Gustavo is. He’s been in tobacco control since he was 12 years old! He’s long been a fearless youth advocate, is a force of nature when he presents, and can make hugely complicated events like our summit come off so smoothly we almost forget how hard we worked before he came on board. We shall miss Gustavo dearly, but we have faith he will stay one of the leaders to watch in tobacco control.

Changes aren’t always easy, but hold tight, the Network is much more than a few staff, plus we’re planning some great new things come Fall.

Talk With Your Dr. Webinar Offered by The Network and GLMA

A new feature of the CDC's Tips From Former Smokers campaign was unveiled this week— “Talk With Your Doctor” (TWYD). The goal of this phase of the campaign is to engage health care providers and encourage them to use Tips as an opportunity to start a dialogue with their patients who smoke about quitting. It is also meant to serve as a reminder for smokers to talk with their healthcare providers about effective methods to help them quit.

As you may remember from our press release about the Tips campaign, "One of the ‘Tips from Former Smokers’ ads features a lesbian who suffers from asthma triggered by working in a smoke filled bar. Recently released data from the CDC shows that LGBT people smoke cigarettes at rates that are nearly 70% higher than the general population." This new phase of the campaign is yet another amazing way to reach out to our communities about this huge disparity!

On Thursday, June 13th, The Network will be teaming up with the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) and CenterLink to bring you a webinar discussing the “Talk With Your Doctor” campaign, and the impact that it will have on the health of LGBT communities.

Join us at 2pm EST by registering HERE!

Reposted at http://www.tobaccodeathray.blogspot.com, posted by The Network.

Mpowered Best and Promising Practices for LGBT Tobacco Control

The Network had the pleasure of presenting our MPOWERED: Best and Promising Practices for LGBT Tobacco Control document through a CDC wide Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) hosted Seminar in Atlanta recently.

As many of you know the Network released its MPOWERED Document at the National LGBT Health Equity Summit in coordination of the National Conference on tobacco or health this past August. As the first document of its kind to culminate LGBT best and promising practices in this way we have received and outpour of requests for the document and to-date have disseminated almost 900 copies, not to mention the online downloads. The document brought a value to the field at such a critical moment in tobacco control. While slow, there is still progress in LGBT tobacco control efforts nationally. With tailored programs addressing LGBT communities, and programs searching to include the population this vital resource helps folks to effectively engage the community.  Because of its popularity along with support of our friends within CDC we had the privilege to showcase the document with CDC Staff.

Through the presentation we aimed to increase more efforts CDC wide on LGBT inclusion within all aspects of CDC. With a wide range of folks from CDC in attendance we had the ability to truly elaborate on the MPOWERED model and our process to create the document. Walking away I feel really great that the information presented will be utilized and will help to increase more awareness of LGBT communities and strategies to include the community in their work.

Written by Gustavo Torrez, The Network for LGBT Health Equity, MPOWERED

Reposted at http://www.tobaccodeathray.blogspot.com,

States Spend Less Than 2 cents of Tobacco $ on Reduction

States will collect a record $25.7 billion in revenue from the 1998 state tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes this year, but will spend just 1.8 percent of it—less than two cents of every dollar—on programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a new report released by a coalition of public health organizations, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Total state funding for tobacco prevention amounts to just 12.4 percent of the $3.7 billion that the CDC recommends for all the states combined. Only two states, Alaska and North Dakota, currently fund tobacco prevention programs at the CDC-recommended level. 

 As the nation implements health care reform, the report titled “Broken Promises to Our Children,” warns that states are missing the opportunity to reduce tobacco-related health care costs which total $96 billion every year in the United States.

 Written by Gustavo Torrez, Program Manager, The Network for LGBT Health Equity. EMPOWERED: Taking on CDC . Reposted at http://www.tobaccodeathray.blogspot.com