Some vape companies, such as UT, market their products as “stress relief.” According to research by Truth Initiative, during the pandemic, 81% of young people who started vaping did so to try to lessen feelings of stress, anxiety or depression. More than half of individuals who use e-cigarettes say they vape to cope. “Vaping was something I would …
Above: UW-CTRI Director Dr. Hasmeena Kathuria and colleagues presented their poster at the American Thoracic Society 2026 Annual Meeting. The poster was called, “Opening the black box of engagement in smoking cessation research: How co-design engaged and empowered people who smoke.” They found that when community health workers and patients collaborated to co-design ways to …
Vaping companies have tried to make their devices irresistible to customers through the use of nicotine, flavors, touch screens and devices that offer as many as 100,000 puffs. Until now, the only thing that seemed capable of forcing users to stop vaping was the battery running out. Now, companies have created “passthrough” charging, meaning customers …
UW-CTRI has updated the popular Bucket Approach training, a strategy that professionals in behavioral healthcare can use to help patients quit tobacco use. Created in 2017 by now-retired UW-CTRI Distinguished Scientist Dr. Bruce Christiansen, the idea of the Bucket Approach is that individuals with severe mental illness, who smoke at higher rates than the general …
Teens and adults who vape can now switch between flavors without having to change a cartridge. The new products, generally called switch vapes, allow customers to toggle between two flavors in the same device. These flavors are sold in self-contained, pre-packaged pods. Other devices use refillable pods. Users can empty one flavor and switch to another; …
In a recent issue of the medical journal CHEST, Dr. Pauline Pradère et al examined health records of 150 French patients with lung cancer and observed very high rates of patients who smoke – not only tobacco (91%), but many who smoke both cannabis and tobacco (39%). In that same issue of CHEST, UW-CTRI Director Dr. Hasmeena Kathuria and Researcher Dr. Jesse Kaye analyzed the …
UW-CTRI colleagues presented and served in a plethora of roles at the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) 2026 Annual Conference in Baltimore. Here is a rundown: Pre-conference workshops UW-CTRI Researcher Dr. Jesse Kaye and Dr. Andrea Weinberger were workshop co-chairs for “Tobacco and Cannabis Co–Use Through a Health Equity Lens.” At that …
The federal rate of Americans smoking cigarettes is 9.9%, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine. The rate, down from 42.4% in 1965, is the lowest since federal officials began recording it. “This is a major win for public health,” said UW-CTRI Director Dr. Hasmeena Kathuria. “This is thanks to public health workers, researchers, …
The FDA has issued marketing authorization for only a limited number of nicotine pouches in 3 mg, 6 mg, and 9 mg strengths. Some companies now sell products containing up to 30 mg of nicotine per pouch. These products are not authorized for sale and are being sold illegally. “As a pulmonary, critical care, and sleep …
ABC 7 TV news in Wausau interviewed Quit Line Coordinator Kate Kobinsky to discuss how the Quit Line is quadrupling free medications to quit smoking while supplies last. To watch that video, click here. NBC 15 also picked up that interview and ran it on their morning news. To view that, click here. The La Crosse Tribune and Wisconsin …