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Recently, three major drug distributors and one drug maker reached a settlement proposal with attorneys general from a bipartisan coalition of states that would require the companies to pay approximately $26 billion to settle claims over their role in the nation’s opioid epidemic. Commentators have been quick to compare the recently unveiled terms to the 1990s tobacco lawsuit known as the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). They claim this is the “second-largest cash settlement ever, trailing only [the MSA].” Beyond the obvious of $26 billion being only 10.6 percent of what tobacco companies have paid out, the opioid lawsuit is nothing...

The chief executive of the company that makes Marlboro cigarettes was quoted by Britain’s Mail on Sunday as saying that the tobacco company foresaw an end to its sales of traditional cigarettes in Britain within 10 years. “I want to allow this company to leave smoking behind,” Jacek Olczak, the CEO of Philip Morris International, was quoted in the paper saying. “I think in the UK, ten years from now maximum, you can completely solve the problem of smoking.” […] For years, Philip Morris has said that its future will not include Marlboro cigarettes as it shifts to electronic devices....

On Tuesday, California moved another step closer to decriminalizing psychedelic drugs amid a debate over whether their prohibition is an outdated remnant of the “War on Drugs.” The bill cleared the Assembly Public Safety Committee 5-3, with proponents touting the benefits to military veterans and others they say can benefit from the use of psychedelics to treat trauma. The measure already passed the state Senate on a 21-16 vote and now heads to the health committee before it can go to the full Assembly, NBC Bay Area reports. If passed, Senate Bill 519 would allow those 21 and older to...

Since 2018, when then-U.S. surgeon general Jerome Adams declared a youth vaping epidemic, America has been engaged in the great American vape debate. In the three years since the infamous shot heard round the anti-tobacco control world, states and localities and the federal government have pushed to restrict adult access to e-cigarettes through taxes, regulations, and some have supported all out prohibitions. Over the past week, two notable events took place in the debate. On Wednesday, June 23, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL.) chaired a House Oversight subcommittee hearing titled “An Epidemic Continues: Youth Vaping in America.” On June 28,...

The first study to use x-rays and CT scans to detect evidence of cancer among the skeletal remains of a pre-industrial population suggests that between 9-14% of adults in medieval Britain had the disease at the time of their death.This puts cancer prevalence in a time before exposure to tumour-inducing chemicals from industry and tobacco at around ten times higher than previously thought, according to researchers.Prior research into historic cancer rates using the archaeological record has been limited to examining the bone exterior for lesions. It suggested that cancer was rare, affecting less than 1% of the population.

Biden claimed to regret how his drug warrior legacy led to mass incarceration. But the prohibition will lead to harsher policing in Black communities. It's like the president hasn't learned a thing from the failed and evil War on Drugs. This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author. Joe Biden clearly hasn't learned a thing from the failed and immoral War on Drugs - a disaster that he played a huge part in creating. The president on Thursday ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban menthol cigarettes, a plan first reported on Wednesday...

April 29 (UPI) -- The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it is proposing a ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes in the United States. The announcement begins a long regulatory process, resulting in menthol cigarettes being available for about two more years even if the ban is eventually adopted. The tobacco industry is expected to challenge the decision. The FDA decision would also ban all flavored cigars. The agency did not include menthol-flavored electronic cigarettes. Menthol is the last allowable flavor for cigarettes. The proposed ban was prompted by a citizen petition that allows the public to...

The White House is waging war on menthol — the last allowable flavoring in cigarettes — and flavored cigars, announcing Thursday that the administration intends to ban the popular additives in tobacco products. It was the first shot in an uphill battle that advocates say would prevent the industry from marketing to children and minority communities with whom flavored tobacco has proven popular. "With these actions, the FDA will help significantly reduce youth initiation, increase the chances of smoking cessation among current smokers, and address health disparities experienced by communities of color, low-income populations, and LGBTQ+ individuals, all of whom...

More WA residents to be eligible for vaccines March 31, eviction moratorium extended Washington residents in tiers 3 and 4 of phase 1b of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine plan will be eligible March 31. Also, the statewide moratorium on evictions extended. BY TVW As of last week, thousands of smokers of all ages, whether current or former, are automatically eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations in our state. No proof of purchase or breath test required. No evidence that you’ve puffed at least 100 cigarettes in your lifetime, the US Centers for Disease Control’s rather random threshold for whether someone is or...

In the 1950's scientists Richard Doll and Bradford Hill published a study from the UK finding that the risk of lung cancer was related to the number of cigarettes smoked per day, and this risk was 25 times higher in those who smoked more than 25 cigarettes per day. Other scientists, namely Ernest Wynder and Evarts Graham, found a strong association between bronchogenic carcinoma and smoking. 96.5% of men with bronchogenic carcinoma were heavy chain smokers compared to 73.7% of the general population. Several extensive studies within one year of each other found the same thing, cigarette smoking is strongly...

Subheading: Policy could be paired with proposal to ban menthols; FDA must decide whether to pursue menthol ban by April 29 The Biden administration is considering requiring tobacco companies to reduce the nicotine levels in all cigarettes sold in the U.S. to levels at which they are no longer addictive, according to people familiar with the matter. Administration officials are considering the policy as they approach a deadline for declaring the administration’s intentions on another tobacco question: whether or not to ban menthol cigarettes. .... Nicotine itself doesn’t cause cancer, heart disease or lung disease, according to the FDA. But...

According to this: COVID-19 Relief Bill Senselessly Targets Vapers Shipping via USPS, Vaping goodies will be really difficult to get.

The end of televised cigarette ads changed everything from the entertainment industry to advertising itself. Tyler SageAt 11:50 PM on Jan. 1, 1971, the last television ad for cigarettes ran on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, signaling the end of an era and shifting the media world in ways that are still being felt today. You can see the minute-long spot below. It features Virginia Slims' controversial attempt to cash in on the women's liberation movement with the tag line "You've come a long way, baby." Tobacco has played a role in American life for almost as long as...

A record-breaking ruling for the family of Bob Levinson, a former FBI Agent who vanished while in Iran 13-years ago. Thursday, a U.S. judge ruled Iran must pay Levinson's family $1.46 billion, the largest judgement for a case of this kind... Levinson disappeared in 2007 while working as a CIA contractor in Iran. His family immediately called on (Atty. David) McGee, who was Levinson's friend, to help bring him home... Earlier this year, Levinson's family announced they were convinced the husband and father of seven was dead. In a statement, they said the judgement was the "the first step in...

the legendary guitarist and co-founder of Van Halen -- has died after a long battle with throat cancer ... TMZ has learned.

Why the American Revolution gave birth to the greatest form of government in all of recorded history https://banned.video/watch?id=5f00d539672706002f402db0  

People in what is now Washington State were smoking Rhus glabra, a plant commonly known as smooth sumac, more than 1,400 years ago. The discovery, made by a team of Washington State University researchers, marks the first-time scientists have identified residue from a non-tobacco plant in an archeological pipe. Unearthed in central Washington, the Native American pipe also contained residue from N. quadrivalvis, a species of tobacco not currently grown in the region but that is thought to have been widely cultivated in the past. Until now, the use of specific smoking plant mixtures by ancient people in the American...

Smoking may offer some protection against the coronavirus, an Israeli study has found. The results support recent similar findings by researchers in France, China and Italy, although a British study has found the opposite. Noting that conflicting reports exist regarding the impact of smoking on the likelihood of contracting the coronavirus, the Israeli team led by Dr. Ariel Israel undertook a population-based study pulling in data from over three million adult members of the Clalit Health Service, Israel's largest healthcare provider. Their results, presented in a non-peer reviewed paper published in medRxiv on Friday, found that "the risk of infection...

The ban - part of a European Union initiative to discourage young people from taking up smoking - will come into effect on Wednesday, May 20Menthol cigarettes will be banned in the United Kingdom from next week in a bid to discourage young people from taking up smoking. The ban - part of a European Union initiative - will come into effect on Wednesday, May 20. Under the new directive, flavoured rolling tobacco and "skinny" cigarettes will be outlawed. Experts believe youngsters use flavoured cigarettes as they relax airways and lower the severity of smoke. While it is commonly believed...

In the race to come up with a viable vaccine for the novel coronavirus, many groups around the world have been diving into the effort with a great sense of urgency. Various hospitals, universities and even bio-tech companies (some of whom have never produced a vaccine before) have gotten in on the action. But I’ll confess that I didn’t anticipate hearing about tobacco companies entering the competition. And yet, here we are. One of the biggest tobacco companies in the world, British American Tobacco, has somehow developed a vaccine that they say shows great promise and they’re ready to...