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UCSF public comment on PMI MRTP application: Evidence that IQOS hurts vascular fuction as much as a cigarette

Nov 21st, 2017
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Matthew Springer and his colleagues at UCSF have submitted this public comment to the FDA. The tracking number is 1k1-8zxa-mq9v and a PDF of the comment is available here

https://tobacco.ucsf.edu/ucsf-public-comment-pmi-mrtp-application-evidence-iqos-hurts-vascular-fuction-much-cigarette

The evidence PMI presents in its MRTP application for IQOS is misleading and does not support the conclusion that IQOS will not harm endothelial function; independent research done in a more relevant physiological model shows that IQOS harms endothelial function as much as conventional cigarettes
Matthew L. Springer, Ph.D., Pooneh Nabavizadeh, M.D., and Leila Mohammadi, M.D., Ph.D. Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology
Cardiovascular Research Institute
UCSF Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science
University of California, San Francisco
Docket Number: FDA-2017-D-3001
November 20, 2017

Philip Morris Products S.A. (PMP S.A.) modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) applications1-3 for its heat-not-burn product IQOS (also designated iQOS and THS2.2) in the United States claim that IQOS does not adversely affect the functioning of the vascular endothelium. The endothelium consists of cells lining arteries that play an important role in controlling normal functioning of arteries (vascular function). Abnormal endothelial function increases the risk of heart disease and heart attacks. The evidence that PMI presents is misleading and does not support the conclusion that IQOS will not harm endothelial function. In addition, new independent research done in a more relevant physiological model shows that IQOS harms endothelial function as much as conventional cigarettes.

This comment focuses on PMI’s assertion that IQOS aerosol exposure involves less cardiovascular risk than smoke exposure. PMI researchers have published studies that compare the effects of tobacco smoke and IQOS aerosol on various physiological systems at the cell, animal, and clinical levels (for example, Smith et al.4). The conclusions that they draw from these studies all point toward IQOS being substantially less harmful than cigarettes. However, some of the criteria used in these studies are incongruous with expected and established physiological assays.

In addition, PMI’s descriptions of their research findings in the MRTP application are worded to imply that IQOS is not harmful to vascular endothelial function known to be caused by tobacco smoke. However, this implication is unsupported because PMI has not performed the most physiologically relevant tests. PMI has not shown that IQOS aerosol exposure leads to less vascular endothelial dysfunction than cigarette smoke exposure.

Endothelial function assessed by arterial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) is a validated measure of cardiovascular health effects. FMD is the process by which arteries dilate (get larger) in response to increased blood flow.5, 6 The endo¬thel¬ial cells that line the arterial wall mediate blood flow to peripheral tissues and the heart by producing nitric oxide (NO) and other factors that lead to vasodilation. Endothelial cells sense increased blood flow because of increased friction of the liquid against the lining of the artery (shear stress) as blood flow velocity increases, and the cells respond by activating the enzyme endothelial nitric ox¬ide syn¬thase (eNOS), which creates NO, leading to FMD.

FMD is quantified by ultra¬sound in humans as the percent vasodilation of the arm’s brachial artery in res¬ponse to restoration of blood flow after transient occlusion.7 FMD is a well-established clinical prognostic indicator of endothelial function that is concordant with other measures of cardiovascular health such as risk of myocardial infarction.6-9 Brachial artery FMD correlates with endothelium-depen¬dent vasodilation of the coronary arteries10 and with a number of adverse cardiovascular outcomes including myocardial infarction and atherosclerosis11-13 that are increased by cigarette smoke. In a seminal pair of papers in the 1990s, David Celermajer and colleagues showed that both smoking and chronic exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) impair FMD.14, 15 Juonala et al.16 reported that FMD was impaired in young adults whose parents were smokers 19-27 years earlier. Several groups including ours and our collabor¬ators have shown that a 30-minute exposure to SHS at real-world levels impairs FMD in humans.17-19 In a rat model of FMD, we have shown that exposure to realistic levels of sidestream smoke from tobacco cigarettes, filtered little cigars, and marijuana cigarettes with and without cannabinoids (but not exposure to clean air) impairs FMD, an effect that occurs after as little as one minute of exposure.20-22 In short, measurement of FMD is a common test to determine whether inhalation of aerosols leads to chronic or acute endothelial dysfunction, and FMD measurement is expected to be included in the basis of any claims that a tobacco product does not negatively impact endothelial function.

PMI’s studies of endothelial function are based on isolated cell properties in culture and on biomarkers, and do not directly test for endothelial dysfunction potentially caused by IQOS aerosol inhalation. PMI claims to have studied the relative effects of IQOS aerosol and cigarette smoke on mechanisms involved in endothelial function, with the conclusion that IQOS exposure is more benign than cigarette smoke exposure in this regard. Notably, PMI’s studies of endothelial functional properties are on the level of cell culture and address the integrity of endothelial cell monolayers and monocyte efflux as well as molecular changes.23, 24 Their rodent studies addressed long-term differences in atherosclerotic plaque. Their clinical investigations include measurements of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) as a biomarker indicative of endothelial dysfunction.25 Importantly, neither their clinical nor animal studies include measurements of FMD.

Their published reports have been carefully worded to avoid saying that IQOS does not cause endothelial dysfunction, but the MRTP application makes the claim that the systems toxicology studies reported in the application “cover a variety of human-derived in vitro model systems comparing the impact of THS aerosol with that of cigarette smoke on vascular inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and airway epithelium toxicity” (PMP S.A. MRTP application Executive Summary, Section 2.7, page 11). The conclusion that IQOS aerosol induces less endothelial dysfunction is not supported by their studies.

FMD in rats exposed to undiluted IQOS aerosol is impaired to the same extent as in rats exposed to cigarette smoke. Our work26, 27 demonstrated that ten 5-second exposures of rats to IQOS aerosol over a 5 minute period substantially impaired FMD to the same extent as similar exposure to cigarette smoke. Our exposure conditions were designed to approximate the use of a single IQOS HeatStick, with identical exposure conditions for the cigarette exposures. To confirm that our exposure conditions were relevant to real-world use, we measured blood levels of nicotine immediately after and 20 minutes after the end of the brief exposure, and determined that the nicotine concentrations after one complete cigarette exposure period were comparable to the blood levels in humans after smoking a single cigarette.

This validated our conditions for inhalation of undiluted cigarette smoke by the rats, and by extension, the relevance of our comparable conditions for inhalation of IQOS aerosol.

These results were presented on November 14, 2017 at the American Heart Association annual Scientific Sessions. Their press release containing a more detailed description of these findings (attachment #1), as well as the poster presentation itself (attachment #2), are appended at the end of this comment after the references.

Conclusion. Unless PMI is able to provide results from humans or living animals showing that IQOS aerosol exposure leads to less vascular endothelial dysfunction than cigarette smoke exposure, PMI’s MRTP application should not claim nor imply that IQOS carries reduced risk for vascular endothelial function.

REFERENCES

1. Reuters. Philip Morris seeks U.S. approval to market alternative cigarette (12/6/16; accessed 6/9/17). 2016; Available from: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN13V2EP.
2. Altria Group. Altria’s Statement on Philip Morris International’s MRTP Application Submission with the FDA (12/6/16; accessed 5/5/17). 2016; Available from: http://www.altria.com/Media/Press-Releases/Pages/PressReleaseDetails.aspx?reqID=2227846.
3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Philip Morris Products S.A. Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) Applications (5/24/17; accessed 6/9/17). 2017; Available from: https://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/MarketingandAdvertising/ucm546281.htm.
4. Smith MR, Clark B, Ludicke F, Schaller JP, Vanscheeuwijck P, Hoeng J, Peitsch MC. Evaluation of the Tobacco Heating System 2.2. Part 1: Description of the system and the scientific assessment program. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 2016;81 Suppl 2:S17-S26
5. Pyke KE, Tschakovsky ME. The relationship between shear stress and flow-mediated dilatation: implications for the assessment of endothelial function. J Physiol 2005;568(Pt 2):357-69 (PMC 1474741)
6. Flammer AJ, Anderson T, Celermajer DS, Creager MA, Deanfield J, Ganz P, Hamburg NM, Luscher TF, Shechter M, Taddei S, Vita JA, Lerman A. The assessment of endothelial function: from research into clinical practice. Circulation 2012;126(6):753-67 (PMC 3427943)
7. Celermajer DS, Sorensen KE, Gooch VM, Spiegelhalter DJ, Miller OI, Sullivan ID, Lloyd JK, Deanfield JE. Non-invasive detection of endothelial dysfunction in children and adults at risk of atherosclerosis. Lancet 1992;340(8828):1111-5
8. Widlansky ME, Gokce N, Keaney JF, Jr., Vita JA. The clinical implications of endothelial dysfunction. J Am Coll Cardiol 2003;42(7):1149-60
9. Nabel EG, Selwyn AP, Ganz P. Large coronary arteries in humans are responsive to changing blood flow: an endothelium-dependent mechanism that fails in patients with atherosclerosis. J Am Coll Cardiol 1990;16(2):349-56
10. Anderson TJ, Uehata A, Gerhard MD, Meredith IT, Knab S, Delagrange D, Lieberman EH, Ganz P, Creager MA, Yeung AC, Selwyn AP. Close relation of endothelial function in the human coronary and peripheral circulations. J Am Coll Cardiol 1995;26(5):1235-41
11. Yeboah J, Crouse JR, Hsu FC, Burke GL, Herrington DM. Brachial flow-mediated dilation predicts incident cardiovascular events in older adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study. Circulation 2007;115(18):2390-7
12. Yeboah J, Folsom AR, Burke GL, Johnson C, Polak JF, Post W, Lima JA, Crouse JR, Herrington DM. Predictive value of brachial flow-mediated dilation for incident cardiovascular events in a population-based study: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. Circulation 2009;120(6):502-9 (PMC 2740975)
13. Yeboah J, Sutton-Tyrrell K, McBurnie MA, Burke GL, Herrington DM, Crouse JR. Association between brachial artery reactivity and cardiovascular disease status in an elderly cohort: the cardiovascular health study. Atherosclerosis 2008;197(2):768-76
14. Celermajer DS, Adams MR, Clarkson P, Robinson J, McCredie R, Donald A, Deanfield JE. Passive smoking and impaired endothelium-dependent arterial dilatation in healthy young adults. N Engl J Med 1996;334(3):150-4
15. Celermajer DS, Sorensen KE, Georgakopoulos D, Bull C, Thomas O, Robinson J, Deanfield JE. Cigarette smoking is associated with dose-related and potentially reversible impairment of endothelium-dependent dilation in healthy young adults. Circulation 1993;88(5 Pt 1):2149-55
16. Juonala M, Magnussen CG, Venn A, Gall S, Kahonen M, Laitinen T, Taittonen L, Lehtimaki T, Jokinen E, Sun C, Viikari JS, Dwyer T, Raitakari OT. Parental smoking in childhood and brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation in young adults: the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study and the Childhood Determinants of Adult Health study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2012;32(4):1024-31
17. Kato T, Inoue T, Morooka T, Yoshimoto N, Node K. Short-term passive smoking causes endothelial dysfunction via oxidative stress in nonsmokers. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 2006;84(5):523-9
18. Heiss C, Amabile N, Lee AC, Real WM, Schick SF, Lao D, Wong ML, Jahn S, Angeli FS, Minasi P, Springer ML, Hammond SK, Glantz SA, Grossman W, Balmes JR, Yeghiazarians Y. Brief secondhand smoke exposure depresses endothelial progenitor cells activity and endothelial function: sustained vascular injury and blunted nitric oxide production. J Am Coll Cardiol 2008;51(18):1760-71
19. Frey PF, Ganz P, Hsue PY, Benowitz NL, Glantz SA, Balmes JR, Schick SF. The exposure-dependent effects of aged secondhand smoke on endothelial function. J Am Coll Cardiol 2012;59(21):1908-13
20. Pinnamaneni K, Sievers RE, Sharma R, Selchau AM, Gutierrez G, Nordsieck EJ, Su R, An S, Chen Q, Wang X, Derakhshandeh R, Aschbacher K, Heiss C, Glantz SA, Schick SF, Springer ML. Brief exposure to secondhand smoke reversibly impairs endothelial vasodilatory function. Nicotine Tob Res 2014;16(5):584-90 (PMC 3977486)
21. Liu J, Wang X, Narayan S, Glantz SA, Schick SF, Springer ML. Impairment of endothelial function by little cigar secondhand smoke. Tob Regul Sci 2016;2(1):56-63 (PMC 4703945)
22. Wang X, Derakhshandeh R, Liu J, Narayan S, Nabavizadeh P, Le S, Danforth OM, Pinnamaneni K, Rodriguez HJ, Luu E, Sievers RE, Schick SF, Glantz SA, Springer ML. One minute of marijuana secondhand smoke exposure substantially impairs vascular endothelial function. J Am Heart Assoc 2016;5(8) e003858. (PMC 5015303)
23. Poussin C, Laurent A, Peitsch MC, Hoeng J, De Leon H. Systems toxicology-based assessment of the candidate modified risk tobacco product THS2.2 for the adhesion of monocytic cells to human coronary arterial endothelial cells. Toxicology 2016;339:73-86
24. van der Toorn M, Frentzel S, De Leon H, Goedertier D, Peitsch MC, Hoeng J. Aerosol from a candidate modified risk tobacco product has reduced effects on chemotaxis and transendothelial migration compared to combustion of conventional cigarettes. Food Chem Toxicol 2015;86:81-7
25. Ludicke F, Picavet P, Baker G, Haziza C, Poux V, Lama N, Weitkunat R. Effects of Switching to the Menthol Tobacco Heating System 2.2, Smoking Abstinence, or Continued Cigarette Smoking on Clinically Relevant Risk Markers: A Randomized, Controlled, Open-Label, Multicenter Study in Sequential Confinement and Ambulatory Settings (Part 2). Nicotine Tob Res 2017; Epub ahead of print April 21, 2017
26. Nabavizadeh P, Liu J, Ibrahim S, Springer ML. Impairment of Endothelial Function by Inhalation of Heat-Not-Burn Tobacco Aerosol (conference abstract). Circulation 2017;136:A16035
27. Nabavizadeh P, Liu J, Ibrahim S, Derakhshandeh R, Springer ML. Inhalation of heat-not-burn tobacco aerosol impairs vascular endothelial function (poster presentation Nov 14, 2017). American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, Anaheim, CA 2017
ATTACHMENT #1: AHA PRESS RELEASE

Heat-not-burn tobacco products may be ‘not so hot’ at protecting blood vessel function
Tuesday News Tip Poster Presentation T1051 Session: AT.APS.28.

Embargoed until time 12 p.m. PT/ 3 p.m. ET, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017
This news tip contains updated study information not reflected in the abstract.

ANAHEIM, California, Nov. 14, 2017 — Heat-not-burn devices may eliminate users’ exposure to tobacco smoke, but the vapor they produce has the same negative impact on blood vessel function as smoking, according to a preliminary animal study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2017, a premier global exchange of the latest advances in cardiovascular science for researchers and clinicians.

Heat-not-burn products are not new, but have been recently updated and test marketed in several countries outside the United States with greater success. Despite tobacco industry claims of heat-not-burn products being less harmful than regular cigarettes, the health effects of the devices are still unproven, according to researchers.

Heat-not-burn devices raise the temperature of tobacco enough to release nicotine-containing vapor but not enough to burn, avoiding smoke exposure. To test the devices’ ability to reduce harm, researchers assessed whether exposure to the vapor affects the ability of rats’ blood vessels to widen when there is increased blood flow – a measure of blood vessel health that is impaired with exposure to smoke from cigarettes, small cigars and marijuana.

Researchers found:
• After ten 15-second exposures over five minutes to the vapor from iQOS, a heat-not-burn device that has been test-marketed in several countries, blood vessel function decreased by 58 percent.
• Similarly, after ten 5-second exposures over five minutes to iQOS vapor, blood vessel function decreased by a similar amount, 60 percent.
• The reduction was comparable to that induced by cigarette smoke (57 percent for the 15-second exposures, 62 percent for the 5-second exposures).
• Exposure to clean air had no impact on blood vessel dilation.
• The amount of nicotine in the rats’ blood after exposure to cigarette smoke was similar to the amount in blood after humans have smoked one cigarette, confirming that the exposure conditions were relevant to the real world. However, the amount of nicotine in the blood after exposure to iQOS vapor was substantially higher (70.3 nanogram/milliliter for iQOS, 15.0 nanogram/milliliter for cigarettes).

Using heat-not-burn products may not avoid the adverse cardiovascular effects of smoking cigarettes.

The research was conducted by Pooneh Nabavizadeh, M.D. in a group led by Matthew L. Springer, Ph.D. Other contributors were Jiangtao Liu, M.D., Sharina Ibrahim, B.Sc. and Ronak Derakhshandeh, M.S.

The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Tobacco Products. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH or the FDA.

Presentation Location: Basic Science Section, Science and Technology Hall

FDA needs to extend the public comment period on PM MRTP for iQOS

Oct 2nd, 2017
by Editor.
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Nicotine is still nicotine, no matter the delivery system, and it’s still bad for you

Sep 25th, 2017
by Editor.
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Wait, What? Tobacco Giant Backs Foundation to End Smoking

Sep 18th, 2017
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An old adage in journalism states that when a dog bites a man, it’s not news. But when a man bites a dog, now, that’s news. Well, the proverbial man just bit the dog in the form of a nearly $1 billion pledge to reduce smoking from the maker of Marlboro cigarettes.

https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2017/9/18/turning-over-a-new-leaf-tobacco-giant-backs-foundation-to-end-smoking-1

Philip Morris International will donate $80 million a year for the next 12 years to the recently launched Foundation for a Smoke-Free World. The new foundation stresses independence from its donors and their agendas, but so far, the company behind Marlboro is its only backer.

The donation comes as Philip Morris is said to be preparing for a smoke-free future. More than 3 million smokers have switched to the company’s e-cigarette IQOS, according to Bloomberg. IQOS heats tobacco to produce a vapor instead of burning it, which the company believes makes it less harmful than conventional cigarettes. The company asked the FDA to approve marketing that sells the product as a device that may reduce the chance of smoking-related diseases.

Derek Yach, the man heading the new foundation, is a vocal supporter of e-cigarettes. The devices, which don’t contain tar, provide a safer alternative for smokers to use while weaning themselves off traditional cigarettes, Yach wrote in a 2015 editorial. Opponents argue that “safer” is not the same as “safe,” and claim that e-cigarettes act as a gateway drug for conventional cigarettes.

Yach is a former World Health Organization official who led the organization’s campaigns against health issues arising from unhealthy diets and smoking. He worked on a global tobacco treaty while at the organization, but has a history of making deals with the devil in the name of progress. Yach worked for PepsiCo for six years after leaving WHO, where he says he pushed the company to make products healthier, including chips with less salt and fat and drinks with less sugar. It’s hard to miss the parallels to Yach’s latest endeavor and its backer.

The Philip Morris donation to the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World was met with skepticism from some.

Deborah Arnott, the CEO of Action on Smoking and Health, a public health charity based in the U.K., criticized the announcement. “Tobacco industry claims can never be accepted at face value,” she said. “The tobacco industry has a terrible track record of funding research designed to support its efforts to block policies to cut smoking.”

Arnott has a point. The tobacco industry has a long and checkered past in meddling in medical and research fields to benefit its bottom line. From the 1920s through the 1940s, the industry leaned heavily on advertising that claimed cigarettes were “physician approved.”

More recently, the industry funded research designed to support the claim that secondhand smoke posed no danger to non-smokers, a review of millions of pages of industry documents revealed. Research proving the opposite was used to support smoking bans in public and private places.

Some worry that the new foundation bankrolled by Philip Morris will also produce research and disseminate information that misleads the public. The International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease denounced the gift as “a billion-dollar bribe the tobacco company hopes will secure it a seat at the table with public health policymakers around the world… Through propaganda, it only has the potential to undermine, delay and obfuscate the work of public health policymakers and advocates who champion evidence-based measures to reduce tobacco use.” The Union said that the company will continue to spend exponentially more money to hook people in poor countries on smoking than on preventive efforts through the foundation.

Although smoking is on the decline in the U.S., tobacco use is still the leading preventable cause of death in the country, according the Center for Disease Control.

Worldwide, tobacco kills about 6 million people a year, which is more than AIDS and malaria combined. The number is projected to rise to 8 million by 2030.

Despite that, there’s not a widespread effort among funders to curb smoking, which is another reason the Philip Morris gift is notable. The two biggest names in the space right now are Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Gates Foundation. Back in 2015, the two teamed up to take on companies like Philip Morris that sue low- and middle-income countries to prevent their governments from enforcing strong tobacco control laws.

The tobacco giant’s intentions and the young foundation’s integrity remain to be seen.

Alternative tobacco product met with government scepticism

Sep 14th, 2017
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Proposal to tax heat sticks the same as cigarettes

Jun 28th, 2017
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A proposal to tax heat-not-burn tobacco products at the same rate as combustible cigarettes is before the National Assembly, the Korea Herald reported.

http://www.tobaccojournal.com/Proposal_to_tax_heat_sticks_the_same_as_cigarettes.54292.0.html

Legislation to revise three laws governing taxation of tobacco products reportedly has been introduced by Rep Kim Kwang-lim, a member of the Liberty Korea Party. All tobacco products are harmful and should be taxed at the same rate, according to the legislation. Heat-not-burn products are taxed at about half the KRW 3,323 (EUR 2.59) rate for combustible cigarettes, the Herald said.

Philip Morris ‘tobacco sticks’ court prosecution postponed

Jun 2nd, 2017
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The heat has come on tobacco company Philip Morris for importing and selling “tobacco sticks”.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/93268568/Philip-Morris-tobacco-sticks-court-prosecution-postponed

The company is facing two charges brought by the Ministry of Health over the sticks, called Heets.

The charges were to be called in the Wellington District Court on Friday but at the last minute they were adjourned by agreement until September 7.

That date was for a case review hearing, an indication that the company would plead not guilty although it appeared no pleas were entered.

The ministry said it considered Heets fell into a category of tobacco products for oral use, other than smoking, and so were banned under the Smoke-Free Environments Act.

Heets were described as tobacco sticks heated in an electronic device, rather than being burned like a normal cigarette.

Through a code-protected invitation-only website, the company was marketing its IQOS smokeless electronic devices, which heated the sticks to release the nicotine.

In March the company said it was confident the way it was doing business was legal.

General manager for Philip Morris New Zealand, Jason Erickson, said they complied with all sections of the Smoke-Free Environments Act.

“We are currently making our IQOS device and Heets available to registered adult smokers on a website. If requested, we will provide a demonstration on how to use the IQOS device, which as the Ministry of Health has acknowledged, is a consumer electronics product.”

The two charges the company faced had a maximum $10,000 penalty.

The Law on Labels

May 31st, 2017
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Noah Steinsapir, general counsel for Kretek International, offers a legal look at what the FDA’s new warning label requirements mean for manufacturers and retailers.

http://tobaccobusiness.com/fda-law-on-warning-labels/

The FDA’s Deeming Regulations are now in full swing, and several deadlines have come and gone since its implementation on August 8, 2016. Currently, the tobacco industry is working hard to comply with the imminent deadlines in connection to the FDA’s new labeling requirements. Manufacturers/importers of cigars are required to submit a rotational warning plan in compliance with FDA regulations by May 10, 2017, and the new labels must be implemented and in commerce no later than May 10, 2018.

The material aspects of the new FDA warning plan are fairly straightforward. Manufacturers and importers of cigars must rotate six warnings:

  1. WARNING: Cigar smoking can cause cancers of the mouth and throat, even if you do not inhale;
  2. WARNING: Cigar smoking can cause lung cancer and heart disease;
  3. WARNING: Cigars are not a safe alternative to cigarettes;
  4. WARNING: Tobacco smoke increases the risk of lung cancer and heart disease, even in nonsmokers;
  5. WARNING: Cigar use while pregnant can harm you and your baby; or SURGEON GENERAL WARNING: Tobacco Use Increases the Risk of Infertility, Stillbirth, and Low Birth Weight; and
  6. WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

These rotated warnings must be permanently affixed to the cigar packaging and advertisements. For packaging, the warning must encompass no less than 30 percent of the two principal display panels of the product’s packaging (a principal display panel being defined by the Deeming Regulations as the panels of the package that are most likely to be displayed, presented, shown or examined by the consumer) and no less than 20 percent of the total display area of the advertisement, with the caveat that the warning on advertisements appear in the upper portion of the advertisement within the trim area of the advertisement. The warnings have some other requirements such as font size, capitalization and color.

Although the rule is relatively straightforward, the industry still remains confused in connection with two looming issues: First, how will this warning coalesce with California’s current Proposition 65 warning requirements? Second, how will the timing of selling through products with older warnings on them work?

Prop 65 vs. FDA Warning

For Prop 65, certain industry groups are working to devise a plan. The purpose of California’s Proposition 65 is to warn the consumer and the public at large that tobacco products contain toxic chemicals. The new FDA warning plan achieves California’s objective and does so in a meaningful manner such that 30 percent of the principal display panels of the product’s packaging will notify the consumer of the health warnings of the tobacco product. In terms of size and visibility, the FDA’s rule goes above and beyond what is required by California’s Proposition 65. Therefore, a proposed and reasonable outcome is that California determines that the additional Prop 65 warning is unnecessary, duplicative and may cause customer confusion in light of the new federal guidelines that require such a clear and conspicuous warning. In either event, hopefully the State of California will provide clarity in connection with this issue.

Products Already in the Retail Pipeline
Another common concern is that the May 10, 2018 deadline for implementing the new warning scheme may create challenges in light of the fact that product can sit in a warehouse or on a retail shelf for extended periods of time. This may result in the sale of product without the adequate warning to the consumer after the May 10, 2018 deadline, which would not be the fault of the manufacturer/importer or the retailer. While the answer is not crystal clear yet, the Deeming Regulations appear to have considered this issue and provide a safe harbor to both the manufacturer/importer, as well as to the retailer. The manufacturer and importer appear to be allowed to introduce product without the current warning requirements into commerce up until May 10, 2018. They then have an additional 30 days after this deadline as a safe harbor to continue selling the last of the product.

In addition, retailers appear to be provided a safe harbor as long as the retailer purchased the product from a licensed manufacturer, the packaging contains some type of health warning, and the retailer has not altered the packaging. Both the FDA and the industry want to provide clear and conspicuous warnings so that consenting adults may make informed decisions. With time, the new FDA warning plan will be further clarified.

This story first appeared in the May/June 2017 issue of Tobacco Business magazine. Members of the tobacco industry are eligible for a complimentary subscription to our magazine. Click here for details.

World No Tobacco Day: Effects of shisha or hookah on the heart

May 30th, 2017
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Did you know 163.7 million in India consume these smokeless variants and are prone to cardiac ailments?

http://www.thehealthsite.com/news/world-no-tobacco-day-effects-of-shisha-or-hookah-on-the-heart-b0517/

According to statistics, about 6 million people in India die every year due to tobacco consumption and approximately 163.7 million users consume only the smokeless variants like sheesha (shisha or hookah). But still, the number of people dying due to tobacco consumption every year is higher than that due to tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS, and malaria put together. Be it tobacco smoking or use of smokeless tobacco like hookah, every form of tobacco contains more than 30 cancer-causing substances along with nicotine which can cause irreparable damage to the body.

Effects of Shisha on the heart

Dr Manoj Kumar, Associate Director & Head, Cardiac Cath Lab, Max Super Specialty Hospital, Patparganj, New Delhi, says, ‘Smokeless tobacco and sheesha affect the heart in multiple ways. Inhalation of the high levels of carbon monoxide reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, leading to an overall drop of oxygen circulating in the body. This causes a drastic increase in the heart rate and blood pressure leading to a lot of exertion on the cardiovascular system. People addicted to such forms of tobacco are more prone to cardiac arrest, high blood pressure, stroke, haemorrhage, blood clot and other heart-related ailments. People with a risk of cardiac ailments or a history of cardiac arrest have twice the risk of mortality if they continue the usage of snuff or other smokeless tobacco products even after an attack.” Here are more side effects of hookah.

Is a sheesha bad for you?

There is no safe form of tobacco. Smokeless tobacco and sheesha, two other variants of tobacco, are equally harmful to heart health. Those forms of tobacco which are not burnt are termed as smokeless. Sheesha, on the other hand, is a form of fruit-flavored tobacco which is roasted in a foil along with charcoal and passed into a small chamber of water through a glass-bottomed pipe, which is then inhaled slowly. The WHO points that the total volume of smoke and carcinogens inhaled during an hour-long session of sheesha is equivalent to smoking 100 to 150 cigarettes with an average sheesha user inhaling approximately one-sixth of a litre of smoke in just one inhale.

Dr Santosh Kumar Agarwal, Senior Interventional Cardiologist, Kailash Hospital and Heart Institute, Noida, says “All forms of tobacco are dangerous to smokers and non-smokers alike. The nicotine in tobacco is what makes people addicted to it. Whether it is smoking or chewing, tobacco damages blood vessels, temporarily raises blood pressure and lowers exercise tolerance. It also reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood and increases the tendency for blood to clot. Blood clots in the arteries can further cause a range of heart problems, which ultimately result in a stroke or sudden death.’ Read more on hookah or cigarettes, which is more harmful?

How to quit smoking hookah?

Here are some tips to try and quit this deadly habit.

1. Try short-acting nicotine replacement therapies such as nicotine gum, lozenges, nasal sprays, or inhalers. These can help you overcome intense cravings.

2. Identify the trigger situation, which makes you smoke. Have a plan in place to avoid these or get through them alternatively.

3. Chew on sugarless gum or hard candy, or munch raw carrots, celery, nuts or sunflower seeds instead of tobacco.

4. Get physically active. Short bursts of physical activity such as running up and down the stairs a few times can make a tobacco craving go away. Also read about 7 simple ways to control the urge of ‘just one puff’!

Disclaimer: TheHealthSite.com does not guarantee any specific results as a result of the procedures mentioned here and the results may vary from person to person. The topics in these pages including text, graphics, videos and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only and not to be substituted for professional medical advice.

Smokers Undeterred as Bills Keep Rising

May 28th, 2017
by Editor.
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Since the beginning of the past fiscal year (ended in March) the taxes collected on tobacco products are paid to the Health Ministry (50%), Education Ministry (25%) and Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs (25%) for anti-smoking campaigns

https://financialtribune.com/articles/people/65335/smokers-undeterred-as-bills-keep-rising

Iranians spend $1-1.5 million (40 to 50 billion rials) on tobacco products each day and the cost of treating tobacco-related disease is almost three times more than the amount spent on tobacco consumption.

During the past five years, the rate of tobacco consumption has only slightly decreased, studies conducted by the Health Ministry indicate. The rate is still high among adolescents and young people (the peak age for first trying of smoking has decreased from 13 to 10). The figure has also increased dramatically compared to the past decade, the Persian language weekly ‘Salamat’ reported.

“In 2006, Iranians smoked 50 billion cigarettes (worth $33.3 million). The figure reached 60-70 billion cigarettes in 2016,” said Dr Mohammadreza Madani, head of the Iranian Anti-Tobacco Association (IATA).

Another concern is the high prevalence of hookah (water pipe) for smoking flavored tobacco among young people. One hour of smoking hookah exposes a smoker 100-fold to the amount of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette. Even those people around a hookah smoker inhale smoke equal to 10 cigarettes.

Every year on May 31, the WHO marks World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), highlighting the health and additional risks associated with tobacco use, and advocating effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.

The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2017 is ‘Tobacco – a threat to development.’

But irrespective of the programs to create awareness on the harmful effects of smoking, statistics show that 14-15% of Iranians from the 80 million population are regular cigarette smokers (more than 3% are women, and 20% men).

“Though most of the cigarette smokers are men, hookah smoking doesn’t vary by gender; 21.3% of women and 21.7% of men are hookah smokers,” Madani said.

Dodging Taxes

Iran is one of the nations that has signed the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), by which a country is committed to reduce the rate of tobacco consumption every year (by implementation of both price and tax measures as well as non-price measures to reduce demand for tobacco).

Pointing to Article 8 of the National Comprehensive Law on Tobacco Control, Madani said, “According to the law passed in 2006, every year taxes on cigarettes should be increased by 10%.”

“However, there have been always obstacles in its implementation. For example, in 2010 the figure decreased to 5% due to ‘manipulative tactics’ by the powerful tobacco lobby. Tobacco producers said that high taxes on cigarettes would lead to an increase in cigarette smuggling, and thus managed to reduce the tax.”

However, in January this year, lawmakers passed cigarette and tobacco tax slabs to be implemented under the sixth five-year economic development plan (2017-22).

Based on the new law, the tax slab on locally-produced tobacco and cigarettes is 10%; for local brands jointly produced by domestic and foreign manufacturers, it is 20%; for domestically produced cigarettes with foreign brand names the slab is 25%; and for imported cigarettes and tobacco, it is 40%.

Lawmakers also mandated the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade to announce the retail prices of cigarettes and all tobacco products to the relevant authorities for taxation purposes and for printing the tax rates on cigarette packs.

“Since the beginning of the past fiscal year (ended in March) the taxes collected on tobacco products are paid to the Health Ministry (50%), Education Ministry (25%) and Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs (25%). The Education Ministry is required to spend the money on increasing students’ awareness of harms associated with tobacco smoking,” Madani said.

Earlier, the tax money was given to the ministries of health and sports and youth affairs.

Facts About Tobacco

There are more than 7 million deaths from tobacco use every year, a figure that is predicted to cross 8 million by 2030 without effective and intensified action. Tobacco consumption is a threat to any person, regardless of gender, age, race, cultural or educational background. It brings suffering, disease, and death, impoverishing families and national economies.

Tobacco use costs national economies enormously through increased healthcare costs and decreased productivity. Some 80% of premature deaths from tobacco occur in low- or middle-income countries, which face increased challenges to achieving their development goals, the WHO website reports.

Tobacco growing requires large amounts of pesticides and fertilizers, which can be toxic and pollute water supplies. Each year, tobacco growing uses 4.3 million hectares of land, resulting in global deforestation between 2% and 4%. Tobacco manufacturing also produces over 2 million tons of solid waste.

By increasing cigarette taxes worldwide by $1, an extra $190 billion could be raised for development. High tobacco taxes contribute to revenue generation for governments, reduce demand for tobacco, and offer an important revenue stream to finance development activities.

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