Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) won a shareholder vote to take control of British asthma inhaler maker Vectura Group (LSE: VEC) for £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion), having previously outbid The Carlyle Group.

• Why it matters: The world's largest maker of cigarettes, a major contributor to respiratory disease, will now make products that treat respiratory disease. Some health advocates have asked Britain's competition authority to intervene, asking it to consider what they refer to as "monopolies of harm."

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it will delay its decision on top-seller Juul, but thousands of other electronic cigarettes will be ordered off the U.S. market.

Why it matters: The stalled decision prolongs the agency's determination on whether there is enough data to show if adult cigarette smokers switching to a less harmful option outweighs the detrimental costs of young people getting hooked on nicotine by vaping.

The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday it will move forward with a nationwide ban on menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products, a blow to the tobacco industry that has lobbied for years to keep sales legal.

Why it matters: The decision, which could take years to implement, kicks off the official rule-making process and comment period by the agency. Tobacco companies are expected to challenge any final regulation in court.

The White House is exploring whether to make tobacco companies reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Why it matters: The policy would make nicotine levels so low that cigarettes wouldn't be addictive, and wouldn't satisfy nicotine addiction — theoretically pushing smokers to buy less harmful tobacco products instead.

Public health advocates are pressing the Food and Drug Administration to ban menthol-flavored tobacco products, years after other flavors were banned.

The big picture: Congress gave menthol a pass when it banned flavored cigarettes in 2009, but advocates are highlighting the products' disproportionate use among Black smokers, at a time when policymakers are especially attuned to racial inequities in health.

E-cigarette use among middle and high schoolers dropped significantly since last year, with 1.8 million fewer teens vaping, a federal report released Wednesday shows.

Why it matters: The survey, conducted between mid-January and mid-March, highlights the effects of last year's outbreak of vaping-related illnesses and deaths.

E-cigarette use among middle and high schoolers dropped significantly since last year, with 1.8 million fewer teens vaping, a federal report released Wednesday shows.

Why it matters: The survey, conducted between mid-January and mid-March, highlights the effects of last year’s outbreak of vaping-related illnesses and deaths.

68 people have died from a lung injury associated with e-cigarette use in 29 states and the District of Columbia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports as of Feb. 18.

What's new: Because of the consistent declines in new EVALI cases since Sept. 2019, as well as the identification of vitamin E acetate as a primary cause of EVALI, Tuesday's report will be the final CDC update on the number of hospitalized EVALI cases and deaths nationally.

Scientists and doctors are exploring whether existing treatments for HIV, Ebola and malaria could combat the coronavirus, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Driving the news: The antiviral remdesivir protected monkeys from MERS, another coronavirus, both before and after exposure, the National Institute of Health announced Thursday.