smoking

FILE PHOTO: Newport and Camel cigarettes are stacked on a shelf inside a tobacco store in New York

FDA proposal to ban menthol cigarettes is met with praise and criticism

By Stephanie Sy, Courtney Norris, Dorothy Hastings

FDA revives federal effort to ban menthol cigarettes

U.S. health regulators pledged again Thursday to try to ban menthol cigarettes, this time under pressure from African American groups to remove the mint flavor popular among Black smokers.

By Matthew Perrone, Associated Press

WATCH: Smoking at all-time low, surgeon general report says

But smoking tobacco is still “the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States,” according to a U.S. surgeon general’s report released Thursday.

By Harry Zahn

A woman exhales vapour from an e-cigarette outside the offices of British e-cigarette manufacturer Totally Wicked in Blackburn, northern England March 19, 2015. Photo by Phil Noble/Reuters

Deaths linked to vaping reveal a complex array of inhaled substances

Following several mysterious deaths linked to vaping, the federal government is now warning Americans not to use e-cigarettes. The Centers for Disease Control also said there are 450 reported cases of lung illnesses tied to vaping, in more than 30…

Shelves full of cigarettes are pictured at a CVS store in the Manhattan borough of New York on February 5, 2014. Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters

FDA makes new push for graphic warning labels on cigarettes

The Food and Drug Administration proposed 13 new warnings that would appear on all cigarettes, including images of cancerous tumors, diseased lungs and feet with amputated toes.

By Matthew Perrone, Associated Press

Walmart raises minimum age to buy tobacco in its stores to 21

By Joseph Pisani, Associated Press

The world's largest retailer said the new rules will take effect in July in an effort to combat tobacco sales to minors.

Tobacco companies pay billions to compensate for smoking-related illness. Is it enough?

By Charles Betley, The Conversation

April 15 is Tax Day, as well as the date each year on which the largest tobacco companies pay $9 billion dollars to states because of tobacco-related illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. But what is the real cost…

5 medical stories you might have missed

By Dr. Amber Robins, Laura Santhanam

It’s easy for politics to dominate our news feeds these days. But there are many important stories in the health and medical communities, too. Here’s what we’re reading now.