A new study, entitled “Everything old is new again: Creating and maintaining a population-level ‘shared reality’ of health risks associated with cigarette use toward both reducing the prevalence and eliminating disparities in cigarette use among all Americans,” was released in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Research was led by Dr. Renee Goodwin, a CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy professor, and also adjunct professor at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health in New York.

Goodwin explained in a press release that more questions are always being developed as cannabis legalization expands across the United States. “Tobacco control has done a tremendous job in public education on the physical health risks associated with tobacco use, and cigarette smoking in particular, over the past several decades,” Goodwin said.

In this most recent study, researchers analyzed data pulled from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. “Participants’ responses to a question asking how much people risk harming themselves physically and in other ways by smoking one or more packs of cigarettes per day were compared between those who use cannabis daily and those who did not use cannabis in the past year,” a press release explained. “Sixty-two percent of adults who use cannabis daily perceived pack a day cigarette use to be of ‘great’ risk to health, compared with 73% of those who did not use cannabis in the past year.”

Previous studies Goodwin has conducted show evidence that cigarette use is more common in consumers who also use cannabis. “We wondered why that might be,” Goodwin said. “Our findings suggest that diminished risk perception of pack a day cigarette use might be one contributing factor.”

“Most Americans who use cigarettes have at least one mental health or substance use issue considered a barrier to smoking cessation and sustained abstinence from cigarette use. Based on our analysis of 2020 nationally representative data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)…” the study manuscript states. “…51.7% of Americans ages 12 and older who reported past 30-day cigarette use met criteria for at least one of the following: serious psychological distress, major depressive episode, heavy alcohol use or daily cannabis use…”

Goodwin recently spoke at a public hearing in New York on the topic of Introductory Resolution 1417, which was proposed by Legislator Kara Hahn of Suffolk County and would ban cannabis packaging that appeals to children. Goodwin explained that studies in Canada, through some of her peers, suggest that cannabis legalization hasn’t led to increase in consumption by minors. “Data from Canada suggests that plain packaging is one measure that can maximize the safe and effective rollout of cannabis legalization and protect the health, safety and wellbeing of all members of our community, including those most vulnerable: children,” Goodwin said at the hearing.

“Enacting legislation on the local and state level that reduces the appeal of cannabis products to youth vis-à-vis prohibiting product packaging that mimics foods and candies that are traditionally marketed to children (e.g., pop-tarts, Oreos) may reduce potential unintended harms to the most vulnerable members of our community via accidental ingestion/poisonings, which have exploded in number in recent years in the U.S., with child and adolescent intentional use of these products,” Goodwin said, according to an interview with Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.

Cigarette consumption has been known to cause many harmful side effects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that more than 480,000 people die from tobacco-related deaths every year, which includes those exposed to second-hand smoking. But cannabis legalization has definitely played a part in reducing cigarette and e-cigarette consumption. A poll in 2019 found that many Americans believe e-cigarettes are more dangerous than cannabis. The EVALI vape crisis of late 2019 and early 2020, which led to 2,807 hospitalizations or deaths, also led to increased restrictions and testing requirements for e-cigarettes.

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Community colleges in New York are set to receive millions in funding “to support the creation or enhancement of short-term credential programs or course offerings that provide pathways to employment in the cannabis industry,” the state announced on Monday.

Four schools that are a part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and City University of New York (CUNY) systems will receive a total of $5 million that the state said will support “programs that will create or enhance non-degree and degree-eligible courses and programs, stackable credentials, and/or microcredentials that quickly address local employer skill needs within the cannabis sector, a projected multi-billion dollar industry with tens of thousands jobs.”

“New York’s new cannabis industry is creating exciting opportunities, and we will ensure that New Yorkers who want careers in this growing sector have the quality training they need to be successful,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said in a press release on Monday. “Diversity and inclusion are what makes New York’s workforce a competitive, powerful asset, and we will continue to take concrete steps to help ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate in the cannabis industry.” 

The funding is part of the Empire State’s continued preparation for its new regulated cannabis industry that is expected to launch at some point this year.

New York legalized recreational pot use for adults last year, which gave the greenlight to individuals 21 and older to toke up in public and to carry up to three ounces of weed. 

Under Hochul, who took office last August following the resignation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the state’s cannabis market has steadily taken shape.

New York’s first recreational cannabis crop is nearing harvest, with the state’s established hemp farmers receiving the first slate of cultivation licenses.

As in other states that have ended pot prohibition, New York has made a concerted effort to provide a redress to those who have been harmed by the War on Drugs.

Earlier this year, the state said that the first round of dispensary licenses would go to individuals previously convicted of pot-related offenses, or family members of individuals with such convictions.

In the announcement on Monday, the state said that the “cannabis credentialing program aligns with Governor Hochul’s continued commitment to delivering new employment opportunities to New Yorkers, especially those from historically underserved communities, while also supplying local employers with a highly skilled, locally sourced talent pool.”

Three SUNY campuses were selected to receive $1 million each: Schenectady County Community College, which will “serve as lead campus with partners Adirondack Community College, Columbia-Greene Community College, and Fulton-Montgomery Community College,” and “is estimated to include over 300 participants”;  Niagara County Community College, which will “serve as lead campus with partners Erie Community College, Genesee Community College, and Jamestown Community College, and will “include over 4,000 participants”; and Orange County Community College, which will “serve as lead campus with partners Dutchess Community College, Rockland Community College, Sullivan County Community College, Ulster County Community College, and Westchester Community College, and is expected to “include over 200 participants.”

One CUNY campus—Borough of Manhattan Community College—will receive $2 million, and will “serve as lead campus with partner Lehman College” and is expected to include more than 360 participants.

Those selected schools “must also partner with local employers in the cannabis industry and receive their input on curriculum development,” the state said in the press release, which also noted that “the New York State Department of Labor and the Office of Cannabis Management will support efforts to expand learning opportunities by helping to connect businesses and job seekers to these essential training programs.”

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