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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
![Indiana Beverage Bill Helps [Some] Businesses by Harming Consumers](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Spirits-GettyImages-1306196045-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Indiana Beverage Bill Helps [Some] Businesses by Harming Consumers
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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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.
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.
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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?…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.
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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…
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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…
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Blame Anti-Tobacco Advocates for Youth Vaping “Epidemic”
Like most teenage crazes, youth interest in e-cigarettes once seemed a passing fad. In the early years youth vaping skyrocketed, but by 2016 began to…
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Tobacco 21: Feel-Good Policy Could Backfire
Amid an outbreak of “vaping-linked” lung illnesses, a campaign of fear against vaping has reached a frenzied peak. For years, the Food and Drug Administration…
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Killing Us with Kindness: Democrats’ War on Vaping Costs Lives
Liberals are supposed to the ones whose hearts “bleed” with concern for others’ welfare. That’s why modern liberals generally reject an abstinence-only approach to regulation.
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UPDATE: Big Picture in ‘Vaping-Linked’ Lung Poisonings
Over the last three months, the news has been filled with stories of people falling ill from a mystery lung ailment supposedly caused by vaping.
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Lung Disease Outbreak Caused by Black Market, not Vaping
News media around the world have picked up on the story of “vaping-linked” hospitalizations. Most have omitted the fact that black market marijuana e-liquid has…
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Heretics in the Church of Tobacco Control
H.P. Lovecraft opined in 1931 that “if religion were true its followers would not try to bludgeon their young into artificial conformity, but would merely…
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Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Except Those with Eating Disorders)
The goal of the government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans is to provide simple advice that promotes nutritional health, but for millions of Americans it may do…
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If You Vape (Illicit Street Drugs), It May Kill You (Duh)
Over the last four weeks, eight Wisconsin teenagers have been hospitalized with severe lung damage. The news that vaping caused these illnesses has swept across…
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Bogus E-cigarette Panic Literally Killing People
Is this a story from The Onion? It’s a question we often ask ourselves these days when we encounter stories online that seem too ridiculous…
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Department of Health and Human Services Needs to Correct Record on Marijuana
Regulators at the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) had an opportunity in 2016 to move marijuana into a less restrictive category of controlled substances. This…
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New York Times Runs Stealth Anti-Vaping Ad as Op-ed
Readers of The New York Times deserve better than advertising masquerading as righteous opinion writing. While reporters at Times get credit for exploring and exposing…
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FDA Created the Youth Vaping Epidemic, Now It’s Doubling Down
E-cigarettes pose less risk than smoking. The science is clear: while cigarettes kill about half their users, e-cigarettes have perhaps five percent of the risk.
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FDA’s Fake E-cigarette News
Journalists aren’t the only purveyors of “fake news.” Federal agencies also generate misleading headlines. Sometimes, they do it with a purpose. That seems to be…
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Help Wanted: Seeking Commissioner for Food and Drug Administration
In a tidal wave of Washington drama, President Trump’s Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb abruptly and unexpectedly announced in March 2019 that he…
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States Challenge Federal Internet Gambling Ban
This January, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an opinion that threatens legal online gambling in the U.S. The tenuous rationale on which the opinion…
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E-Cigarette Puritans Risk Lives
Tobacco companies faced a savage backlash in the 1990s when the public realized they willfully misled the world about the dangers of smoking. Yet when…
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Department of Justice Disregards Intent of Congress on Internet Gambling
Congress was not vague in its intent when it enacted the Wire Act in 1961. The law, developed and supported by then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy,…
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Agenda for the 116th Congress: Consumer Freedom
The second-to-last chapter in the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s agenda for the 116th Congress focuses on consumer freedom. Specifically, the chapter recommends ways Congress can rein…
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85 Years after Repeal, Prohibition Lingers in Your Beer
On December 5, 1933 the federal government’s nationwide prohibition against alcohol ended. Eighty-five years later, the beer market seems to have finally recovered. Today, there…
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Can You Buy Alcohol on Christmas (and New Year’s Day) in Your State?
The holidays bring parties, feasts, and libations. But some celebrants may find themselves without a cup of cheer if they wait until the day of a…
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Congress Should Stay out of Sports Betting Regulation
For the first time in twenty-five years, Americans can legally wager on the outcome of sporting events outside of Nevada. Thanks to a Supreme…
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No, One or Two Alcoholic Drinks a Day Is Not Unsafe or Unhealthy
Here we go again. A new round of news headlines implies any level of alcohol consumption is bad for you, based on the findings…
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One Year Later, Federal Plan on Tobacco Harm Reduction Needs Improvement
The Food and Drug Administration has failed to approve a single reduced-harm nicotine product in the past year, despite unveiling a new “roadmap” in…
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Science Reporters Get it Wrong: Moderate Alcohol Consumption Isn’t Dangerous
Joel Achenbach, a science and politics reporter, once asked why “many reasonable people doubt science.” He should look at his own reporting on alcohol…
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For Sake of Public Health, FDA Should Not Ban E-cigarette Flavors
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gotlieb, a medical doctor and cancer survivor, has had a long-term interest in tackling tobacco-related diseases. But unfortunately…
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Last Chance for the 115th: Protect Lifesaving Vaping Products
Congress must act before anti-tobacco zealots in and outside of government eliminate life-saving vaping products. Anything that makes e-cigarettes less attractive to smokers will result in…
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Prop E Win in San Francisco Would Be Loss for Public Health
“Big Tobacco” is pouring millions into a campaign to maintain their ability to keep selling harmful products that target children. At least, that’s the narrative…
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Supreme Court Ends Sports Betting Prohibition—Now What?
It’s hard to believe it was just last Monday the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal law that, for 25 years, prevented the states…
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Senseless Menu Labeling Rules Go into Effect in May
Within days, chain restaurants and grocery stores nationwide will have to comply with a high-cost, low-value Obamacare menu labeling mandate. Failure to comply with the…
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How States Can Win Big from Legal Sports Betting
Every March, millions of Americans join friends, relatives, and coworkers in “March Madness” betting pools, centered on the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Men’s Basketball…
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States: Protect Taxpayers and Reject Sports Gambling Rent-Seekers
For the last 25 years, the states have lost out on millions in tax revenue they could have collected from sports betting, thanks to a…
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California’s Cancerous Coffee Nonsense
If you have ever visited California, you have probably encountered the warning labels that appear on everything from seaweed to soft drinks, informing you…
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Justice Department Breaks Trump Vow to Leave Marijuana up to States
It is Congress’s responsibility to finally update federal drug laws in a way that reflects America’s changing values and priorities. …
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Supreme Court Could Hand Down Game-Changing Ruling for Sports Betting
There's good reason to think that the Supreme Court will not only rule that New Jersey has the right to repeal its own sports betting ban,…
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Supreme Court Gambles with State Sovereignty
This morning the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a case that pits New Jersey against both the nation’s largest sports leagues and the…
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FDA Issues Commonsense Federal Guidance on Nutrition Labeling
While it might not be ideal, it’s an improvement on the former scenario—a sprinkling of common sense on an otherwise foolish regulation.
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Pennsylvania Becomes the Fourth State to Legalize Online Gambling
This past Monday, October 30, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed a bill legalizing Internet gambling throughout the state. The move makes the Keystone State the…
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New York’s Anti-Science Vape Ban Will Not Reduce Smoking Rates or Save Lives
Thanks to the education efforts of public health activists, today few Americans are now unaware of the dangers of smoking. As a result, cigarette use…
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The Importance of an Under-the-Radar Supreme Court Case on Sports Betting
New Jersey tried to repeal its own law against sports gambling, but a federal law banning sports gambling was used to stop New Jersey’s voters…
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Cook County, Illinois Voters not Fooled by Soda Tax’s Empty Promises
Less than two months after implementing a new “soda tax,” lawmakers in Cook County, Illinois, are repealing the cent-per ounce tax. The Washington Post…
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Cut Red Tape and Save Lives by Regulating Tobacco Alternatives Based on Risk
At the beginning of the year, President Trump issued an Executive Order aimed at cutting red tape. The order directs federal agencies to set…
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Public Health Community, Heal Thyself
We owe a debt of gratitude to the public health movement. Without its research and advocacy, we would not have learned to stop the spread…
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Conservatives & Libertarians to GOP: Time to Evolve on Marijuana Policy
A bill introduced by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) will prevent the Department of Justice from using taxpayer dollars to prosecute medical marijuana…
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U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Sports Betting Case
This morning, the United States Supreme Court announced it would hear New Jersey’s case on gambling and federalism. The decision seems to reflect concerns raised…
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Why OLC is Unlikely to Criminalize Online Gambling
I have immense esteem for my friend Norm Singleton at the Campaign for Liberty. His lengthy Capitol Hill experience, depth of knowledge, and humor have…
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Rep. Dent Tries Again to Sneak Online Gambling Ban Through Congress
All Americans, regardless of political affiliation or their opinion on gambling, should resist attempts to bypass the democratic process.
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Law Enforcement Joins Coalition to End Sports Gambling Ban
The American Gaming Association (AGA) launched a new coalition with one mission: end the unconstitutional ban on legal sports betting.
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Federal Trade Commission Eyes Costly New Contact Lens Rules
Despite a decent track-record when it comes to promoting an open and competitive market for eyeglasses and contact lenses, the FTC recently made a notable…
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Gottlieb Tells Congress FDA Will Base E-Cig Regulations on Science
Democrats like to portray their party as the “party of science.” Yet, when it comes to harm-reducing tobacco alternatives that offer millions of smokers a…
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Sports Gambling Bill Might Unite Groups in Opposition
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Breaking: Gambling Bill Could Restore Freedom to States
Congress may soon consider a bill that would repeal outdated federal gambling prohibitions, and thus allow states to legalize and regulate any form of gambling,…
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Supreme Court Should Overturn Congress’ Sports Betting Ban
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act is blatantly unconstitutional and ought to be struck down in full.
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Biggest Study Yet Shows the Dangers of War on Salt
History, and consumers, will not look kindly on organizations that continue to cling to their unjustified war on salt.
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Trump DOJ Nominee Unlikely to Bend to Anti-Gamblers’ Will
Steven Engel—Trump’s nominee to head this powerful office—indicated during his confirmation hearing that would not be swayed by political pressure or convenience.
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How FDA Commissioner Gottlieb Can Save E-Cigarettes and Lives
Now that he has triumphed over the confirmation process, Gottlieb’s real challenge—streamlining the FDA for the benefit of consumers—begins.
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Democrats Kill Vape Amendment, Possibly Thousands of Americans
It is a dark day for science-based regulation. In the early hours of Monday morning, Congress finally rolled out its $1 trillion budget deal in…
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Healthy Kids Can Coexist with Flavored E-cigarettes for Adults
Research indicates that flavored e-cigarettes help smokers switch to vaping and not go back to their deadly traditional cigarette habit.
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CEI E-Cigarette Lawsuit Takes on Activist Agencies
The battle over electronic cigarettes heats up even more this week as the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s general counsel Sam Kazman argued in court against a…
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Raiders’ Vegas Move Signals NFL Warming to Legal Sports Gambling
Next to the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), there has been no greater opponent to legalizing sports gambling in the U.S. than the National Football…
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Salt Awareness Week Perpetuates Misguided Approach to Hypertension
If we really want to help people live longer, it’s time to shelve the one-size-fits-all “salt only” approach to hypertension reduction.