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DEADLINE AHEAD ON CIGARETTE WARNING LABELS: Here’s another item to watch in the U.S. government’s battle against nicotine addiction: How officials proceed on informing the public about the dangers of smoking.
Outside groups have until Wednesday to submit comments about graphic cigarette warning labels that the Food and Drug Administration proposed in August, which are meant to dissuade people from lighting up.
The plan depicts 13 different images in color that are meant to show not just the consequences that most people probably already know about, such as damaged lungs, but also to show other side effects people might not be as familiar with, such as bloody urine, erectile dysfunction, and amputated limbs.
Tobacco companies would need to place the pictures on the upper half of the front and back of cigarette packs, as well as on 20% of the space on their ads. They’d also need to place text warnings next to the graphic images, which include statements such as, “tobacco smoke causes fatal lung disease in nonsmokers” and “cigarettes cause strokes and heart disease.”
As of Tuesday morning, 283 public comments had been submitted about the different pictures and text warnings. Unsurprisingly, healthcare groups came out largely in support. Tobacco giant Phillip Morris didn’t specifically go after the labels but said it wanted to ensure they clearly state that e-cigarettes don’t have the same effect as traditional cigarettes. (The company has its IQOS device, which heats tobacco, in mind here.)
Most of the comments in opposition, which were largely from individuals or those who identified as “anonymous,” raised doubts about whether the labels would be effective in getting people to stop smoking. They said people already know that cigarettes are bad for them but continue to smoke anyway.
The National Association of Tobacco Outlets, Inc. wrote in its comment that the FDA had failed to show the labels would be effective in “reducing the number of children and adolescents who use cigarettes and smokeless tobacco and in preventing the life-threatening health consequences associated with tobacco use.”
The final rule is due March 15, 2020, and the last time the FDA finalized labels, in 2011, they were successfully challenged in court. The judges said that those labels violated free speech and were meant to evoke emotional responses rather than to educate the public.
This question will again be at the center of the debate, and a lawsuit over the final rule is almost certain. FDA officials hope that their focus on the lesser-known hazards of smoking will yield a different result this time.
Good morning and welcome to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare! This newsletter is written by senior healthcare reporter Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). You can reach us with tips, calendar items, or suggestions at dailyonhealthcare@washingtonexaminer.com. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe here.
Programming note: Daily on Healthcare won’t publish Nov. 27-29. Look for us in your inboxes again on Monday, Dec. 2. Happy Thanksgiving!
JAYAPAL HOPES FOR MEDICARE FOR ALL ACT HEARING IN COMING MONTHS: Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the Democratic lead sponsor of the Medicare for All Act, told reporters in a phone call that she hopes her bill will get a hearing in the Energy and Commerce Committee in the coming months given that Chairman Frank Pallone has already committed to a hearing. It’s not clear yet whether the bill would get a hearing on its own or — as has been the case with other House hearings so far — whether it would be heard alongside other bills to expand government healthcare.
Monday’s phone call was aimed at pushing back at reports that found a fully government funded healthcare system would be more expensive overall than the current healthcare system. Jayapal, joined by supportive economists, said that myths persisted about “Medicare for all” financing “from the debate stage to the op-ed page.”
GOOD NEWS FOR PARENTS AHEAD OF TOY PURCHASES FOR BLACK FRIDAY: CHOKING DOWN AMONG KIDS: Choking-related deaths of kids fell from 719 in 1968 to 184 in 2017, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The drop was especially high among children under the age of 3. The researchers weren’t able to draw a direct causation in their study, but they did note that laws have changed in the last 50 years to help warn parents that certain toys aren’t safe for young children.
HARRIS UNVEILS SWEEPING MENTAL HEALTHCARE IMPROVEMENT PLAN: Presidential candidate Kamala Harris released a plan to reform mental healthcare, including ‘mental health on demand,’ or providing people with telehealth services; expanding treatment center capabilities; and doubling Veterans Affairs funding to research and treat PTSD and traumatic brain injury. Her ‘Medicare for all’ policy would connect people with mental healthcare, eliminating deductibles and copays, and she would get rid of the policy that prohibits Medicaid funding from going to patients in facilities with more than 16 psychiatric beds. She did not give a total cost estimate to make the changes or an explanation as to how she’ll pay for it. Much of the proposal features funding research into mental illness and incentivizing healthcare professionals to work in mental healthcare, but she didn’t say how much that would cost.
MOST KIDS GET WAY TOO MUCH SCREEN TIME: Nearly 90% of kids 18 months to 5 years old were exposed to screens for much longer than pediatricians recommend. Researchers in the journal JAMA Pediatrics found that by 12 months old, the average child was spending about 53 minutes looking at TV, computer, or mobile phone screens. By age 3, kids had about two and a half hours of screen time. The American Academy of Pediatrics says parents should very gradually introduce infants to screens and limit screen time for kids 2 to 5 to about an hour at most.
FDA TRIES TO DEBUNK CLAIM THAT CBD ‘CAN’T HURT’: After warning 15 companies for illegally selling cannabidiol products, the FDA also warned the general public that there are more questions than answers about the safety of CBD products. The FDA said too many people who have reached for CBD products to treat pain believe the products “can’t hurt” and “there are real risks that need to be considered.”
TRUMP DONATES SALARY TO FIGHTING THE OPIOID CRISIS: President Trump donated his third-quarter salary — $ 100,000 — to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, which oversees federal public health offices, including the surgeon general’s office. The White House said the funds have been earmarked “to continue the ongoing fight against the opioid crisis.”
The Rundown
Stat How a billionaire couple greased the skids for Nancy Pelosi’s drug pricing bill
The Washington Post Searching for a killer: Inside the CDC’s scramble to solve a mysterious vaping disease
The Salt Lake Tribune BYU-Idaho reverses course on Medicaid ban and apologizes ‘for the turmoil caused by our earlier decision’
Politico PhRMA ends funding for high-profile addiction treatment group
Boston Globe Opioid-related overdose deaths continue slow decline, but toll from fentanyl rises
Reuters U.S. charges former Outcome Health executives in $ 1 billion fraud
Calendar
TUESDAY | Nov. 26
Congress in recess.
THURSDAY | Nov. 28
Thanksgiving holiday.