"A picture is worth a thousand words": smoking in multi-unit housing in Israel.

A brief commentary on the need for policy change by the Israeli government to address the problem of tobacco smoke incursion in multi-unit housing. The commentary also includes a call for enhanced products, programs, and services to help smokers in Israel quit.

US health policy related to hookah tobacco smoking.

OBJECTIVES: Although US cigarette smoking is decreasing, hookah tobacco smoking (HTS) is an emerging trend associated with substantial toxicant exposure. We assessed how a representative sample of US tobacco control policies may apply to HTS. METHODS: We examined municipal, county, and state legal texts applying to the 100 largest US cities. We developed a summary policy variable that distinguished among cities on the basis of how current tobacco control policies may apply to HTS and used multinomial logistic regression to determine associations between community-level sociodemographic variables and the policy outcome variable. RESULTS: Although 73 of the 100 largest US cities have laws that disallow cigarette smoking in bars, 69 of these cities have exemptions that allow HTS; 4 of the 69 have passed legislation specifically exempting HTS, and 65 may permit HTS via generic tobacco retail establishment exemptions. Cities in which HTS may be exempted had denser populations than cities without clean air legislation. CONCLUSIONS: Although three fourths of the largest US cities disallow cigarette smoking in bars, nearly 90% of these cities may permit HTS via exemptions. Closing this gap in clean air regulation may significantly reduce exposure to HTS.

The Strategic Dialogue on Tobacco Harm Reduction: a vision and blueprint for action in the US.

The issues related to tobacco harm reduction continue to challenge the tobacco control research and policy communities. The potential for combusting tobacco products to reduce exposure and risk remains largely unknown, but this has not stopped manufacturers from offering such products making these claims. The role of oral tobacco products in a harm reduction regimen has also been a source of dialogue and debate. Within the last few years, major cigarette manufacturing companies have begun selling smokeless products for the first time, claiming to target current cigarette smokers. Other cigarette manufacturers are also offering smokeless products in markets around the world. The harm reduction debate has at times been divisive. There has been no unifying set of principles or goals articulated to guide tobacco control efforts. In particular, the research needs are extraordinarily high in order to drive evidence-based policy in this area and avoid the mistakes made with "light" cigarettes. This paper discusses recommendations from a strategic dialogue held with key, mostly US-based tobacco control researchers and policy makers to develop a strategic vision and blueprint for research, policy and communications to reduce the harm from tobacco for the US. Short-term and long-term objectives are described.

Q&A: Mitchell Zeller on the FDA and tobacco.

By law, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has the authority, through its Center for Tobacco Products, to regulate the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of tobacco products. Its director, Mitchell Zeller, JD, talks about how the center, though its research, public education, and enforcement activities, aims to "make tobacco-related death and disease a part of America's past."