The growing regulatory backlash against vaping and rising public health concerns about e-cigarettes are not deterring one of China’s biggest companies in the sector, Relx, from trying to enter the U.S market. Relx, which controls an estimated 70 percent of the Chinese market, is seeking FDA approval to sell its products at a time when vaping is coming under closer scrutiny amid a teen nicotine epidemic, and its links to respiratory illnesses and deaths as well as COVID-19.
Meanwhile, a coalition of pro-marijuana advocacy groups has unveiled a plan to legalize interstate cannabis commerce, which is currently banned under federal law. The group is pushing governors of legal and soon-to-be-legal states to set up such an arrangement—which must be sanctioned by Congress—saying that increased commerce would create jobs and help revitalize the pandemic-hit economy. As more and more states look to cannabis reform for an badly needed economic boost, we urge states to closely consider the extra costs of marijuana legalization and its negative impact on public health.
And finally, the New York Times publishes a story about how a mother with a family history of addiction successfully kept her daughter off opioid painkillers following surgery. Her fears were well founded, as 5 percent of patients age 13 to 21 reported “persistent” post-surgery opiate use, according to a 2018 study.