Crypto News: Not your dad's Nicorette

Good morning, it's Fiona in New York. Despite the dangers of smoking and vaping, the marketing makes it attractive. What would happen if we applied the same strategy to smoking cessation? More on that later, but first...

An AI startup for personal injury law has been valued at more than $1 billion.
Drugmakers plan to roll out inhalers that treat respiratory diseases such as asthma with lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Urban heat stress is another disparity in the world's most unequal nation.
WW International, also known as WeightWatchers, will sell low-cost copies of weight-loss drugs like Wegovy.

Just three years after hitting the market in 2015, Juul became popular among young people and captured 75% of the total US e-cigarette market share. In turn, it created a whole new generation of people addicted to nicotine.

While nicotine replacement therapies — products designed to help smokers quit — have been around for decades, studies have found that young adults are significantly less likely to use them, in part because they're viewed as outdated. The traditional offerings haven't resonated with this demographic of smokers who want to kick the habit.

"It looks like something your dad would use to quit cigarettes," says Katie Beck Sutler, the interim president of smoking cessation startup Blip World.

Blip is taking a fresh approach to smoking cessation, Sutler tells me, appealing to young people by making its products effortlessly fit into a night out the way a vape or cigarette would. The startup offers two FDA-approved smoking cessation products: nicotine gum and lozenges. It also has distraction tools, like nicotine-free flavored toothpicks.

Blip is reaching out to a younger audience with the help of social media, celebrity endorsements and modern, vibrant branding.

Last month, Blip was at New York Fashion Week, where it handed out its products backstage to models and workers who might be tempted to smoke and vape in high stress situations. Rapper Doja Cat was seen with a Blip toothpick at the Grammy Awards earlier this year. And actress Chloe Cherry from HBO's hit show Euphoria was featured in a photoshoot by the celebrity photographer The Cobrasnake to mark Blip's launch in CVS.

Early evidence suggests that the strategy is working. The products were tested in 80 CVS drugstores last year and have expanded into 3,500 locations this year, according to Blip.

"We're appealing to the person who doesn't look at Nicorette and think, 'That's for me,'" Sutler says.

My chat with Sutler reminded me of my own journey with quitting alcohol a couple of years ago, which I've written about for Prognosis previously.

Alcohol, like smoking and vaping, is intertwined with societal norms, such as a toast of champagne during celebrations or an after-dinner cigarette. It's part of what makes cutting down or quitting so difficult.

People are becoming more conscious of their alcohol intake and both businesses and celebrities have taken note. New non-alcoholic options and branding are making the journey to sobriety easier. Why can't we do the same for nicotine? — Fiona Rutherford

This woman's face was unrecognizable after an explosion, but human placenta restored it, the New York Times reports.

Closed clinics, shipping delays and impassable roads. The 19th News explains how Hurricane Helene has made abortion access in the South even harder.

People are spending up to six figures to have hyperbaric chambers in their homes as a cure-all personal device, Mansion Global reports.

Health questions? Have a tip that we should investigate? Contact us at AskPrognosis@bloomberg.net.

Stay updated by saving our new email address

Our email address is changing, which means you'll be receiving this newsletter from noreply@news.bloomberg.com. Here's how to update your contacts to ensure you continue receiving it:

Gmail: Open an email from Bloomberg, click the three dots in the top right corner, select "Mark as important."
Outlook: Right-click on Bloomberg's email address and select "Add to Outlook Contacts."
Apple Mail: Open the email, click on Bloomberg's email address, and select "Add to Contacts" or "Add to VIPs."
Yahoo Mail: Open an email from Bloomberg, hover over the email address, click "Add to Contacts."