United States

Vital Strategies has welcomed an announcement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding its intention to decrease the burden of tobacco-related harm in the USA by regulating nicotine levels and, potentially, flavorings in tobacco products.

Vital Strategies has denounced President Trump’s decision to renege on the USA’s obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement.

Vital Strategies has congratulated authorities and health advocates in New York City on their work to introduce a series of new policies to curb tobacco use. These policies include raising the minimum price of all tobacco products and reducing through attrition the 9,000 tobacco retailers in NYC.

Vital Strategies has expressed alarm that Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the nominee for commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration, previously held a position with an e-cigarette company and continues to have declared financial interests in that business.

This move dismisses worldwide scientific consensus around the causes and consequences of climate change, ignores the direct benefits to public health in the US from cleaner air, and undermines the Paris Agreement.

Vital Strategies has welcomed the publication of the Surgeon General’s report into e-cigarettes in the US. Vital Strategies – like World Health Organization and others - has previously urged a precautionary approach toward e-cigarettes and called for tighter regulation of the sale and use of these products.

Vital Strategies has launched a paper on Sustainable Funding Mechanisms for Population-Level Tobacco Control Communication Programs. The paper outlines the importance and cost-effectiveness of using mass and social media to change knowledge and behavior around the consumption of tobacco products, ultimately helping to reduce the health and economic burden of tobacco.

Last week, the United Nations General Assembly held its annual meeting in New York, the first since passage of the sustainable development goals last year.

The Institute for Global Tobacco Control (IGTC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) recently held the 11th Annual Global Tobacco Control Leadership Program in Baltimore.