Cigar, Pipe, and Smokeless Tobacco Use and Cardiovascular Outcomes From Cross Cohort Collaboration
Tasdighi E, et al. Cigar, Pipe, and Smokeless Tobacco Use and Cardiovascular Outcomes From Cross Cohort Collaboration. JAMA Netw Open. 13 Jan 2025;8(1):e2453987. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.53987
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2829075
“This cohort study among 103 642 adults found that current use of cigars was associated with increased risk of stroke, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure, while current pipe use was associated with increased risk of heart failure. Users of smokeless tobacco products had an increased risk for myocardial infarction and mortality due to coronary heart disease.
This study identified distinctive cardiovascular risks associated with the use of noncigarette tobacco products, underscoring the substantial public health implications and highlighting the need for stringent regulatory measures.” “Epidemiological insights from this study may support regulatory action relevant to new tobacco products or product standards and provide a framework for the future study of new and emerging tobacco products.”
Note: Other new noncigarette products like e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches also present cardiovascular risks but have not been extensively studied in large cohort populations. Both in vitro and in vivo studies show these products present cardiovascular risks and should be banned or tightly regulated. Stephen Hamann
TRC Research Commentary
Choi K, et al. Knowledge and Use of Menthol-Mimicking Cigarettes Among Adults in the US. JAMA Netw Open. 14 Jan 2025;8(1):e2454608. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.54608
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2829185
In this survey study of US adults, a substantial proportion were aware of and had already experimented with synthetic cooling agent menthol-mimicking cigarettes. These products may serve as a substitute for menthol cigarettes and reduce the public health benefits of a menthol cigarette ban in promoting smoking cessation.
Comment: Tobacco/vaping interests often develop substitutes for ingredients in products like synthetic or analog constituents (for example, nicotine and menthol). These substitutes frequently produce the same harmful result as the original ingredients, though they may differ in chemical makeup from the original ingredients they replace. Substitutions are made to circumvent regulations banning/restricting the initially restricted constituent, not the substitute. Stephen Hamann
