Redlands Daily Facts
The FDA’s policies would boost the black market and smoking-related deaths
Redlands Daily Facts cites CEI Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on the FDA plan to ban menthol cigarettes. As Competitive Enterprise Institute senior fellow…
Redlands Daily Facts
The FDA’s policies would boost the black market and smoking-related deaths
Redlands Daily Facts cites CEI Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on menthol flavored cigarettes: As Competitive Enterprise Institute senior fellow Michelle Minton points out,…
KCMO Radio Program
Radio Program: KCMO Talk Radio
CEI Senior Fellow Michelle Minton talks to KCMO about e-cigarettes. Listen to the full interview here.
Comment
CEI Comments on FDA Proposed Menthol Standard
Center for Tobacco U.S. Food and Drug Administration 10903 New Hampshire Ave Silver Spring, MD 20993 Re: Tobacco Product Standard for Menthol in Cigarettes Docket…
Townhall
Who Is the FDA’s Juul Ban Supposed to Help?
Townhall cites CEI Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on the FDA shutdown of the e-cigarette Juul. Don’t hold your breath waiting for good arguments…
Washington Examiner
FDA’s Juul ban part of deadly war on nicotine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it denied the application of Juul Labs, maker of the Juul e-cigarette, to market its…
Blog
FDA’s Juul Ban Part of Deadly War on Nicotine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it denied the application of Juul Labs, maker of the Juul e-cigarette, to market its…
News Release
FDA Juul Ban Bad for Public Health: CEI Comment
The Food and Drug Administration is on the verge of ordering Juul Labs Inc. to remove its e-cigarettes from the U.S. market, according to a…
C-SPAN
VIDEO: National Cannabis Policy Summit
CEI Senior Fellow Michelle Minton participated in the National Cannabis Policy Summit Watch the full video at C-SPAN here.
Issues & Insights
Militarizing The Baby Formula Crisis Is Infantile
A military cargo plane lands filled with vitally needed baby formula to be greeted by a top government official. A relief flight to…
Blog
Banning Menthol Cigarettes Will Do Nothing to Promote Racial Justice
Public support for the War on Drugs has never been lower, due in no small part to increased awareness about the devastation drug criminalization…
Vapor Voice
Unnatural Response
Vapor Voice cites CEI Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on nontobacco nicotine regulation: Michelle Minton, writing for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, states that given the…
Blog
CEI Joins Coalition Urging FDA Not to Ban Synthetic Nicotine
This week CEI joined a coalition of groups urging Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf not to prohibit synthetic nicotine (read the…
News Release
House Votes to Decriminalize Marijuana – an Important First Step
The House on Friday passed legislation to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (or MORE) Act…
Blog
FDA’s Dysfunctional Regulation of E-cigs Created the Synthetic Nicotine Problem
Winston Churchill once said that “If you destroy a free market you create a black market” and nowhere is the validity of that statement…
Los Angles Daily News
Menthol Ban a Bad, Harmful Idea
Los Angeles Daily News cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on why e-cigarettes offer smokers a better alternative: “While some smokers might quit in response…
Reason
Can the FDA’s New Commissioner Save the Agency from Itself?
Public trust in the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is at an all-time low, largely due to its bumbled handling of the pandemic. But…
The Washington Times
Researchers Warn Trendy CBD Gummies Can Cause Failed Drug Tests
The Washington Times cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on popular consumer gummies and vaporizers: Michelle Minton, a senior fellow at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
Treasury Department Report Endorses Deregulation to Boost the Booze Business
It isn’t often that a Democratic administration endorses deregulation, but that is exactly what the Treasury Department does in a new report on promoting…
Blog
Indiana Beverage Bill Helps [Some] Businesses by Harming Consumers
Blog
Bah Humbug. The States that Ban Booze on Christmas, New Year’s, and other Winter Holidays
The holidays bring parties, feasts, and visits with friends and family, many of whom haven’t seen each other in person since the start of the…
Blog
GOP Cannabis Legalization Bill Could Finally Surmount Partisan Divide
Even with the majority of Americans having supported cannabis legalization for nearly a decade, proposals to decriminalize the substance at the federal level have…
News Release
Ill-Advised Nicotine Tax Thrown Back into Democrats’ “Build Back Better” Bill
Upon news that congressional Democrats today put a nicotine tax provision back into President Biden’s ever-changing “Build Back Better” plan (ostensibly aimed at COVID-19 relief,…
News Release
CEI Experts Weigh In on Reconciliation Framework Agreed to by White House and Congressional Democrats
WASHINGTON – The White House and congressional democrats announced agreement on a “framework” for a reconciliation bill that will spend nearly $2 trillion and includes…
Blog
The Youth Vaping “Epidemic” Has Ended; So Should Extreme Youth-Centric Anti-Vaping Measures
People will tolerate just about any imposition if they believe it will protect children from harm. Hence, appeals to “think of the children” are…
News Release
FDA Approves One E-Cigarette for US Market – More Needed to Help Smokers Quit
The Food and Drug Administration on October 12 authorized the first electronic cigarette in the U.S. – one made by tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds.
Blog
Tobacco Tax Equity Act Perpetuates Economic and Health Disparities
Mainstream interest in the issue of structural racism is long overdue. Yet nascent efforts to root out vestiges of racism in the U.S. political system…
Blog
Regulatory Flexibility: Good for the Booze Business and Consumers
The coronavirus pandemic has taught us a few things, including the economic fragility of many industries. The restaurant industry, with its reliance on in-person dining,…
Reason
Since the FDA Has Not Approved Any Vaping Products, All of Them Are Now ‘Subject to Enforcement Action’
Reason cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on e-cigarette regulations: “There is robust evidence that non-tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes help adults quit smoking,” notes Competitive Enterprise Institute senior…
Blog
FDA Shows Its Bias against E-cigarettes as Deadline Approaches
After years facing the constant threat of extinction, it seemed the vapor industry would finally be vindicated. The evidence on e-cigarettes regarding their safety and effectiveness…
Reason
Setting the Record Straight on Heated Tobacco Products
Reason cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton e-cigaretts: But as Michelle Minton of the Competitive Enterprise Institute points out, the survey used…
Real Clear Policy
Sacrificing Truth and Science to Vilify Juul
Two prominent U.S. Senators want Juul to be punished for paying a scientific journal to “rig the science,” as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) put it.
Blog
For CDC to Repair Its Reputation, It Must Get Out of Housing (and Politics)
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was once considered one of the most trusted public health institutions in the world, but its handling…
Blog
Tobacco Control’s Latest Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
If you want to make something irresistible to teenagers, portray it as a forbidden fruit. That is what has happened in the U.S. with e-cigarettes.
The Manila Bulletin
Groups Reveal Report on Bloomberg’s Meddling in PH
The Manila Bulletin cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on Bloomberg’s anti-tobacco meddling: The Nicotine Consumers Union of the Philippines (NCUP) and the Philippine E-cigarette…
News Release
DC Flavored Tobacco Ban Will Make Life Harder for Marginalized Groups
The Council of the District of Columbia today voted to ban the sale of flavored tobacco, including menthol, a policy opposed by CEI and coalition…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Urging D.C. City Council to Reject Prohibition of “Flavored” Tobacco Products
June 28, 2021The Council of the District of ColumbiaJohn A. Wilson Building1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.Washington, DC 20004Dear Chairman Mendelson and Councilmembers:The undersigned civil rights, civil…
Blog
Exposed: Bloomberg’s Anti-Tobacco Meddling in Developing Countries
Back in February I wrote a piece for Inside Sources titled “Bloomberg’s Philanthro-Colonialism: A Threat to Global Health and Science,” criticizing the behavior of…
Blog
It’s up to Drug Reformers to Stop the War on Nicotine
In recent years, a growing number of Americans have been waking up to the failure of the War on Drugs. Officially initiated by President…
Reason
Sports Betting Pays Off
Reason cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on sports betting: “There is nothing criminals like more than a large, unregulated betting market where they can…
News One
All Cigarettes Matter: Why Ban Just Menthols? Statistics Show 77% Of Black Smokers Prefer Them
News One cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on menthol cigarettes: “The issue of tobacco control is no different, Michelle Minton recently wrote for the Competitive Enterprise…
Letters
CEI and Other Organizations Sign Coalition Letter Condemning Menthol Prohibition Proposal
We, the undersigned organizations, representing millions of taxpayers and consumers across the united States, strongly urge you to reject any proposed ban on menthol flavored…
News Release
FDA Menthol Ban Will Spur Illicit Market, Worsen Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice
The FDA today announced it will be banning menthol-flavored cigarettes and all flavors of cigars, with a proposal due out in the months ahead.
Blog
A Menthol Cigarette Ban Would Perpetuate the Racist War on Drugs
In April the White House announced an apparently historic shift in the U.S. War on Drugs—away from strict prohibition to an approach emphasizing harm…
News Release
House-passed SAFE Banking Act Would End Federal Threat to Banks Dealing with Legal Cannabis Businesses
The House has passed a bill allowing banks to do business with cannabis companies, the SAFE Banking Act. While Senate action on the bill…
The Washington Examiner
Racially Charged Atmosphere Could Spell End Of Menthol Cigarettes
The Washington Examiner cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on menthol cigarettes: Michelle Minton, a senior fellow at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, thinks that…
Blog
Can Biden End the Current War on Drugs without Starting a New One?
This president is not your Grandad’s Joe Biden. At least, that seems to be the message of a new White House plan on the…
Tobacco Reporter
Mail Ban Forces Vape Shops Out of Business
Tobacco Reporter cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on e-cigarettes and a USPS mail ban: Writing in the National Review, Michelle Minton,…
National Review
Don’t Ban E-Cigarette Delivery by Mail
Amid the economic devastation caused by COVID-19, one industry has actually thrived: the cigarette business. Some people are smoking to relieve the emotional…
Blog
Biden Should Choose Science over Politics and Embrace Tobacco Harm Reduction
Will the new Biden administration choose science over politics? The commandment to “believe science” has become a rallying cry, one echoed by Joe Biden…
Inside Sources
Bloomberg’s Philanthro-Colonialism: A Threat to Global Health and Science
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is in hot water overseas —and potentially at home—with members of the Philippines government accusing Bloomberg-funded charities of…
Blog
The Growing Groupthink Problem in Science and Policy
Government Dietary Guidelines issued jointly by the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) every five years are meant to provide health…
Blog
Vape Mail Ban Will Hurt Vulnerable Adults and Won’t Prevent Online Sales to Youth
The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted a brutal toll on businesses. But one industry that is not only surviving but thriving is the cigarette industry.
National Review
New Alcohol Guidelines a Victory for Science over Politics
Op-Eds
Cannabis Legalization Clears One Hurdle, but Political Parties Must Compromise to Succeed
Last week, the House passed an historic bill to decriminalize cannabis at the federal level. Despite growing public and political support for such a measure,…
Blog
Documentary Exposes Global Nicotine Misinformation Campaign
What if, instead of a deadly “addictive” chemical, nicotine was a revolutionary therapy able to treat several debilitating conditions and, potentially, save billions of lives?…
News Release
House Vote to End Cannabis Prohibition Complicated by Big Government Provisions
The House today passed legislation that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. CEI led a coalition supporting that provision of the bill. But CEI…
Blog
Americans have Grown more Centrist, So Should the Parties
This last election was not normal. Record voter turnout, different voting procedures, and polarizing candidates makes comparing this cycle to any other difficult. But looking…
Inside Sources
Drugs (Except Nicotine) Win on Election Day
Americans sent a clear message on Election Day that it is time to end the war on drugs. Every ballot measure to decriminalize or legalize…
Blog
Democrats More at Risk for Anti-E-Cigarette Stance
Millions of adult vapers across the country could determine the outcome of the election in battleground states. According to Gallup, about 8 percent of…
Blog
How Could We Have Known: Prohibiting E-cigarettes Leads to Smuggling and Smoking
Anyone with a passing knowledge of American history is aware of the failures of prohibition. Both the now-repealed ban on alcohol and the ongoing “war…
Blog
How Could We Have Known: Prohibiting E-cigarettes Leads to Smuggling and Smoking
Anyone with a passing knowledge of American history is aware of the failures of prohibition. Both the now-repealed ban on alcohol and the ongoing “war…
Washington Times
Should Maryland Decriminalize Sports Betting? Yes.
In November, Maryland voters will weigh in on whether sports betting should be legal in the state. Question 2 would allow certain licensed facilities to…
Blog
New Junk Food Ordinance: Another “Feel Good” California Law that Does No Good
California is a tough place to live. Ranked as the state with the nation’s worst quality of life, Californians have the biggest debt-to-income ratio, suffer…
Inside Sources
The Double Standard for Nicotine and Cannabis
The U.S. House of Representatives may soon vote on a historic measure to end federal prohibition on cannabis. Ironically, just as the public and political…
Study
The Double Standards of Cannabis and Nicotine
View Full Document as PDF Executive Summary The principal benefit of recreational cannabis, as the name implies, is recreation. Many who enjoy using…
News Release
Report: Politics, Not Science, Drives Double Standard on Cannabis, Nicotine Policies
As the House votes on a bill this month to end the federal prohibition on cannabis – once unthinkable – a new Competitive Enterprise…
The Washington Examiner
Government Alcohol Advice Should be Based on Evidence, Not Agendas
Should adults cut their alcohol consumption in half for health reasons? That’s what a federal government advisory committee is recommending. It matters because that recommendation…
Blog
FDA Rules on E-cigarette Makers Go into Effect Today, to the Detriment of Public Health
The world was simpler in 2009 when Congress enacted a law that gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco. Back…
Blog
Anti-Nicotine Zealots Only Care about Science When it Says What They Want
Opponents of nicotine vapor products like to claim the scientific high ground. For years, they have asserted there isn’t enough evidence on the long-term risks…
Blog
How the U.S. Spreads Fake Vaping Fears, Part II
In a previous post, CEI's Michelle Minton described how, through the use of statistical hocus pocus, anti-vaping interest have exported vape panic around the world.
News Release
Repeal #NeverNeeded Regulations Hindering Use of Tech at Home During Deadly Pandemic
The COVID-19 crisis has severely tested individuals and businesses, making access to technologies and services that enabled large swaths of the American economy to move…
Study
Repeal of #NeverNeeded Regulations Can Help People Stay Home and Safe During the COVID-19 Crisis
As individuals and businesses continue to address the COVID-19 health crisis, access to technologies and services that have enabled large swaths of the economy to…
Blog
How the U.S. Spreads Fake Vaping Fears
The international health profession is rightly focused on the SARS-CoV-2 virus threat at the moment. Meanwhile, another multinational threat has insidiously spread: Alarmism about nicotine…
National Review
Stop the Youth Vaping ‘Epidemic’ by Ending Youth Anti-Vaping Campaigns
Anyone who has raised teenagers knows that forbidding an activity is a sure way to pique their curiosity. Yet this is the approach American policymakers and…
Blog
Perverse Psychology: How Anti-Vaping Campaigns Backfired
We have spent years and countless billions trying to deal with the supposed epidemic of youth vaping. It has only gotten worse. A new CEI…
News Release
Report: Youth Vaping Rate Increased with Anti-Vaping Campaigns
Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute released a report on the connection between underage e-cigarette use and anti-vaping advocacy.
Study
Perverse Psychology
Cigarette smoking is a lethal habit that kills approximately half of those who sustain it over their lifetime. But, contrary to popular belief, the nicotine…
Washington Examiner
Government alcohol advice should be based on evidence, not agendas
Blog
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: Anti-Drug Warriors’ Crocodile Tears
There is a lot to say about the heinous killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and no shortage of opinions being offered. Many have…
Reason
Mission Creep and Wasteful Spending Left the CDC Unprepared for an Actual Public Health Crisis
Reason cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on the CDC and the nation’s response to COVID-19: “The CDC devolved into an agency incapable of…
Blog
Cocktails in Quarantine: How your State Governs Booze Buying during Lockdown
With all the other added stress created by the outbreak of COVID-19, most states have chosen to relax alcohol laws in a pragmatic bid to…
News Release
#Neverneeded Regulation Report: CDC, FDA Response to COVID-19 Hindered by Mission Creep
The nation’s top federal agencies tasked with protecting public health have been increasingly distracted over recent years by dubious priorities having nothing to do with…
Study
Narrow the Focus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may well have taken their eye off the ball by…
Blog
FDA Four-Month Delay Not Enough to Save E-Cigarette Industry
To fight the coronavirus, many states have pressed pause on certain rules and regulations. Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed an order lifting the state ban…
Inside Sources
CDC Priorities Left Government Unprepared for COVID-19
It was always a matter of when — not if — a new viral pandemic would make it to America.
Blog
Liberty in the Time of Coronavirus Part 2
Much of the money dedicated to medical research and services comes from the federal government. While some may see this is a good way to…
Blog
Liberty in the Time of Coronavirus Part 1
A recent headline at The Atlantic declared, “There are No Libertarians in an Epidemic.” But, just as there are atheists in foxholes, there are libertarians…
News Release
Report: Federal Dietary Guidelines Put Eating Disorder Sufferers at Risk
Federal dietary guidelines and government-mandated calorie disclosures can adversely impact people who suffer from restrictive eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, a new Competitive Enterprise…
Study
How Federal Policy Puts Eating Disorder Sufferers at Risk
Around 8 million Americans suffer from clinically significant eating disorders that drive them to develop and maintain unhealthy, and sometimes fatal, eating habits. The American…
Comment
Michelle Minton Testimony on Flavored Tobacco Products
Thank you for giving the public an opportunity to provide input as you consider this proposal. I sincerely hope you listen to the testimony you’ll…
Blog
Dangerously Inaccurate Reporting on Vaping-Linked Outbreak Persists
Coverage of the outbreak of illness linked to “vaping” has been handled poorly in general, but the New York Post's recent reporting is especially egregious.
Vaping Post
E-Cigarettes and the Creation of Ignorance
Vaping Post cites CEI’s study by Senior Fellow Michelle Minton: Michelle Minton writing in, ‘fear Profiteers,’ [26] sums things up thus……
News Release
Federal Government Misled Public on E-Cigarette Health Risk: CEI Report
A new report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute calls into question government handling of e-cigarette risk to public health, especially last week after the U.S.
Study
Federal Health Agencies’ Misleading Messaging on E-Cigarettes Threatens Public Health
The scientific community is increasingly unified in the assessment that e-cigarettes are vastly safer than smoking, help smokers quit, and are a net positive for…
Blog
CDC Confirms Black Markets, not “Vaping,” Caused Outbreak
A new CDC report puts the final nail in the coffin of the idea that the spat of lung injuries that occurred beginning last summer…
Reason
House-Passed Budget Deal Raises Age to Buy Cigarettes to 21
Reason cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on e-cigarettes. As Michelle Minton, a policy analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, pointed out in a…
Townhall
The Black Market Is the Real Problem with Vaping
Townhall cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on e-cigarettes and the black market. But, as Michelle Minton of the Competitive Enterprise Institute stated after…
News Release
Trump’s E-Cigarette Flavor Ban Will Jeopardize Public Health
Today the Trump FDA announced a ban on flavored vape products, except for menthol or tobacco flavors. Manufacturers will have 30 days to cease making…
Blog
Mitt Romney Made Millions off Cigarettes, Now He Wants to Kill its Competition
Though they (probably) aren’t car surfing or eating Tide pods, lawmakers and government bureaucrats are as susceptible to passing fads as bored teenagers. For government…