Good morning, it’s Thursday, which is one day away from Friday, in case you had forgotten, which, of course, you haven’t.
From time to time while driving around town I see people huddled against buildings, under store awnings, and in bus shelters – basically anywhere they can get out of the bone-chilling wind to enjoy a cigarette or other smoked tobacco/cannabis product.
I always wonder at this.
The pull of the addiction must be really strong for anyone to exposed themselves to the elements for a prolonged period at this time of year. (Writing that, however, I realize that if it’s at least 30 degrees then I will run outside – sometimes for hours on end, so what does that say about my exercise addiction? Perhaps this is a subject to delve more deeply into another day).
There are, of course, smokeless tobacco products that one can utilize without going outside – namely chew, snuff/dip. I always thought that these were different names for the same product, but actually that’s not the case, according to a very highly informative website maintained by – who else? – Phillip Morris International.
Chew is made from shredded tobacco leaves and is placed between the cheek and the gum, the release of flavors and nicotine sparks saliva production, which is generally spit out. Snuff, meanwhile, is made from finely ground tobacco intended to be sniffed up the nose, though the moist version can be placed in the mouth – often in small packets – and is known as dip.
There’s also tobacco-free nicotine pouches, which have been rising in popularity among young people. These products were first produced in the U.S. not terribly long ago – 2014 – and are now the fastest-growing product on the U.S. tobacco market, though they technically don’t contain any tobacco, which makes some people think they’re less harmful to one’s health. This, however, has not yet been proven.
For the record, the FDA maintains that “due to substantially lower amounts of harmful constituents than cigarettes and most smokeless tobacco products, such as moist snuff and snus, the authorized products pose lower risk of cancer and other serious health conditions than such products.”
The top-selling brand of nicotine pouches is ZYN, which is made by a Swedish-based Phillip Morris subsidiary. Critics say Zyn is targeting a younger audience with flavors like cool mint, citrus, etc., and through the use of so-called by social media “Zynfluencers”, though officially speaking, you have to be 21 or older to purchase it.
Use of nicotine pouches by middle and high school students is on the rise, according to the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey, though it has not yet reached the popularity of vapes of e-cigarettes and overall the use of tobacco products among this vulnerable population is at a 25-year low.
The rapid rise in the use of Zyn has caught the attention of lawmakers at both the federal and state levels. Here in Albany, a bill has been introduced that would stop the flavored pouches from being sold in New York, in line with a 2020 ban on flavored vape cartridges. The debate over this bill hasn’t yet reached the fever pitch of a still pending effort to ban menthol cigarettes, but certainly has the potential to do so.
Why, you might be wondering, am I dedicating this kind of space and attention to these products? Today is the Great American Spit Out (GASpO), which aims to raise awareness about the potentially harmful impacts of smokeless tobacco products and encourage people to stop using them.
You might be less familiar with this effort than, say, the Great American Smoke Out, as it was created by the Department of Defense and is intended to particularly target service members.
Another cold and cloudy day is on tap, with the possibility of snow flurries and/or showers (again) and temperatures in the mid-20s (again).
In the headlines…
The simmering feud between President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and President Donald Trump escalated yesterday when Trump mocked his counterpart in a post filled with falsehoods, calling him a “dictator without elections.”
His comments came hours after Zelensky said the American leader had been “caught in a web of disinformation” from Russia over the war in Ukraine.
Trump’s escalating war of words with the Ukrainian leader comes as hawks in both parties plead with the president not to give Moscow a free pass in talks to end the bitter three-year conflict.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Zelensky to express his support as “Ukraine’s democratically elected leader”, according to Downing Street.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered senior military and Defense Department officials to draw up plans to cut 8 percent from the defense budget over each of the next five years, officials said.
In a statement, Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses said the cuts were being conceived to pay for other Trump administration defense priorities, including a desired “Iron Dome for America” missile defense system and border security.
The Internal Revenue Service will start laying off more than 6,000 employees on Thursday, according to three people familiar with the plans.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it is trying to reverse the firing of staffers who worked on the government’s response to bird flu, amidst growing concerns about its spread.
Trump signed an executive order intended to identify and eliminate any federal financial benefits going to immigrants who entered the country illegally, something already prohibited existing the law.
“My Administration will uphold the rule of law, defend against the waste of hard-earned taxpayer resources, and protect benefits for American citizens in need, including individuals with disabilities and veterans,” read the text of Trump’s order.
“I think that we should govern the District of Columbia,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “I think that we should run it strong, run it with law and order, make it absolutely flawless.”
Health Secretary RFK Jr. announced the Trump administration adopted a set of official government “sex-based definitions” to give the public and federal agencies precise terms with which to describe categories including “male,” “female,” “woman” and “man.”
Trump said that he would have had a “very nasty life” if he lost the presidential election, a surprisingly public acknowledgment that his legal challenges could have consumed his life and brought jail time.
Civil rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit charging that three of Trump’s executive orders attacking diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility violate their free speech rights and hinder their ability to help marginalized communities.
Through Trump’s orders barring references to transgender people or support of DEIA programs within the federal government, public funding for several nongovernment organizations, including the three plaintiffs, are at risk of being cut.
Trump is putting his thumb on the scale in a months-long debate between the House and Senate as to how to best implement his top legislative priorities, like securing the southern U.S. border and extending the tax cuts passed in his first administration.
Hamas said it had handed over the bodies of four Israelis abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel — including a woman and her two young children — in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Among the bodies believed to be handed over by the Palestinian militant group were those of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, the two youngest captives seized in the attack that started the Israel-Hamas war.
Large crowds had gathered near the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis to watch the choreographed handoff staged by Hamas. Rifle-toting gunmen were deployed around a stage holding four black coffins — each bearing a deceased hostage’s image.
New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler questioned the citizenship status of an elected county official in New York during a discussion about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a public meeting this week.
The rising GOP star from the Hudson Valley clashed with county legislator Jose Alvarado after the trailblazing lawmaker asked him how Latinos should respond to intrusive demands for proof of citizenship by police or immigration agents.
In a rare sign of pushback against Trump, a coalition of New York GOP House members rebuked the president for cuts to a federal program that administers aid to emergency workers and others suffering from toxins related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
In a letter to Trump, seven Republicans urged him “as a native New Yorker who lived in New York City as it recovered from the 9/11 terrorist attacks” to reverse the cuts to the World Trade Center Health Program and rehire staff members who were fired.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has deployed National Guard troops to secure state-run prisons amid a wildcat strike by corrections workers. Picketing and striking by corrections officers took place at around 30 state prisons as of yesterday morning, union officials said.
Hochul yesterday signed an executive order activating more than 3,500 New York Army National Guard members to provide security at dozens of state prisons where correction guards are striking for safer working conditions.
“These disruptive and unsanctioned work stoppages by some correction officers must end as they are jeopardizing the safety of their colleagues, the prison population, and causing undue fear for the residents in the surrounding communities,” Hochul said.
Also yesterday, a state judge granted a temporary restraining order under the Taylor Law prohibiting correction officers from striking or engaging in other concerted work stoppages or slowdowns, according to a court filing in Erie County.
Citing a state law that bars work stoppages by most New York public employees, the judge, Dennis E. Ward of State Supreme Court in Erie County, issued a TRO requiring striking officers to return to work immediately.
An Oneida County grand jury is expected today to unseal criminal charges against up to nine officers for choking and beating Marcy Correctional Facility inmate Robert Brooks to death, almost all of it caught on high-definition video.
The OCM and legislative leaders will fight a proposal in Hochul’s budget to allow police to use the smell of cannabis as evidence that a person is driving while impaired — changing a key piece of the 2021 law that legalized recreational use for New York adults.
New York State regulators are beginning a new effort to crack down on threats within the legal cannabis pipeline, announcing the creation of a Trade Practices Bureau to tackle violations of state rules that fall into a void between enforcement and compliance.
Advocates say there is more to the federal Green Light lawsuit that the feds claim, since the state law does not prevent federal immigration authorities from accessing DMV data “whenever a lawful court order, judicial warrant, or subpoena” is issued.
The Trump administration is moving ahead with its plan to kill New York City’s congestion pricing – a controversial program designed to help raise millions in critical infrastructure funding for the MTA.
In a letter to Hochul, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Department of Transportation would rescind the agreement effectively ending the tolling structure which he called “backwards and unfair” and went into effect early this year.
“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,” said Duffy, noting that commuters have already financed the construction and improvement of city roadways through their taxes.
Duffy said the congestion program is beyond the scope of the congressional approval for a “Value Pricing Pilot Program”, in part, because it appears to be “driven primarily by the need to raise revenue for the MTA as opposed to the need to reduce congestion.”
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social, declaring victory even as the MTA vowed to keep the tolls on until a judge said otherwise.
Janno Lieber, head of the MTA, has helped steered the tolling program through lawsuits and a last-minute pause. He now will face off with Trump. He said there is no contingency plan if congestion pricing fails, and is confident it will prevail in court.
Lieber said the tolling would “continue notwithstanding this baseless effort to snatch those benefits away”, while the state and the federal government move their battle over the program to the court system.
A federal judge prodded for detailed answers from a top Justice Department official who is seeking the dismissal of corruption charges against New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams, a request that shook the agency and led to the resignation of eight prosecutors.
The judge, Dale E. Ho, made no decision during the 90-minute hearing, but compelled the acting No. 2 official at the Justice Department to defend the rationale for abandoning the case against Adams.
Before concluding, the judge called it “a complicated situation” and later added that he would take everything from the hearing under “careful consideration.” Ho said he planned to make a “reasoned decision” soon, as he did not want the matter to drag on.
Ho ran the American Civil Liberties Union’s voting rights litigation department when Trump’s first administration tried to put a citizenship question on the 2020 census.
A top Justice Department official defended the move to dismiss charges against Adams, saying it was part of a larger effort to discourage improper investigations of public officials rather than a quid pro quo as prosecutors have suggested.
An important party to this case was absent: the assistant U.S. attorneys from Manhattan who oversaw the investigation, indictment and prosecution of the mayor. No one in the courtroom argued the merits of the corruption case or against its dismissal.
A group of Black elected officials from across the city are warning Hochul she’ll pay a steep political price if she takes the unprecedented step to remove Adams from office in the wake of a DOJ motion to dismiss his corruption indictment.
A group of top New York faith leaders met with Hochul and urged her to have divine patience before deciding to remove Adams from office.
State Attorney General Letitia James is reportedly encouraging Council Speaker Adrienne Adams to run for mayor — in an apparent bid to stop ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s expected comeback bid for City Hall.
Dozens of city government employees lost access to view Adams’ detailed schedules earlier this month.
The New York State Education Department is instructing families at a few Brooklyn yeshivas to find other schools — the first major test of how education officials will enforce controversial regulations of failing religious programs.
About 1,000 nurses at NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn say they will strike on March 1st if the health system does not commit to improve staffing and pay “competitive” salaries.
While the Trump administration has threatened to renegotiate billions of dollars in federal subsidies previously awarded to computer chip companies across the country, one Capital Region CEO is doubling down on the industry’s need for the money.
Lawnie Pass, the popular season-long program for general-admission outdoor seating at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and other venues affiliated with the promoter Live Nation, will not return this year.
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy proposed to take over some city services and hinted at additional state support to tear down the Central Warehouse during an address this week.
If a widespread salt shortage has left you resorting to cat litter, water softener pellets or table salt to de-ice your driveway or front stoop, take note: The city Department of General Services will be giving out road salt tomorrow.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
