Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Drop In Teen Smoking, Drinking, Seems To Have Stuck — With One Exception
Teen drug use hasn’t rebounded from its drop during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results from a large annual national survey released Tuesday. About two-thirds of 12th graders this year said they hadn’t used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days. That’s the largest proportion abstaining since the annual survey started measuring abstinence in 2017. ... The only significant increase occurred in nicotine pouches. About 6% of 12th graders said they’d used them in the previous year, up from about 3% in 2023. (Stobbe, 12/17)
Just a year after he became chief executive officer of Philip Morris International Inc., Jacek Olczak swooped on rival nicotine pouch maker Swedish Match in a $16 billion deal. Olczak wanted the company’s vast US distribution network and popular Zyn nicotine pouches, which are about the size of a chiclet and meant to be placed between a user’s gum and upper lip. Hailed by some as a product that can give users “unstoppable force,” Zyn now is in such high demand that the company is on track to sell 580 million tins in the US this year, up from 385 million a year earlier. (Meddings, 12/17)
On cannabis —
Child advocates want the North Carolina General Assembly to regulate the sale of intoxicating cannabis products, many of which are packaged to look like popular candy and snacks. (Fernandez, 12/18)
The cannabis available in Colorado dispensaries today has high concentrations of THC, much higher than ever available before. Researchers at the Colorado School of Public Health want consumers to be aware of the risks associated with its use. (Alejo, 12/17)
On opioids —
Massachusetts legislative leaders said Tuesday evening they’ve reached a deal on a long-gestating bill targeting the state’s opioid epidemic, teeing up a late-session vote on a proposal that would mandate insurance coverage for overdose-reversal drugs but dropping a controversial proposal to allow for so-called safe injection sites in cities and towns. (Stout, 12/17)
James Mannion knew what he needed.For nine months, while incarcerated in a county jail in Portland, Maine, he pleaded for a medication called buprenorphine. Mannion, a barber, recreational fisherman, and father of two, was once a regular heroin user, but had used the medication to eliminate the cravings and withdrawal he experienced whenever he tried to quit opioids cold turkey. Buprenorphine had worked before for Mannion, just as it has worked for millions of others, helping him to avoid using far more dangerous illegal drugs like heroin and fentanyl. (Facher, 12/18)
Conroe will join Texas in an $83 million settlement against Kroger to resolve claims for practices that contributed to the opioid epidemic in the state. In November, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the settlement, allowing cities and counties to join and receive funds for remediation in communities across the state. “We would relinquish the right to sue separately on the same issue,” Conroe Interim City Attorney Mike Garner said during council’s workshop Dec. 11. (Dominguez, 12/17)
California and Oklahoma are separated by more than 1,000 miles. Within that span there are hundreds — if not thousands — of addiction treatment programs. “And yet, in the last few years alone, thousands of alleged Oklahoma residents have been trafficked across the country to California under the guise of obtaining (substance use disorder) treatment,” claims a lawsuit filed in federal court Dec. 11 against two Orange County rehabs, South Coast Behavioral Health and Rad Life Recovery of Costa Mesa, as well as others. (Sforza, 12/17)
