The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced steps taken in implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, one of the more significant health-related acts of the Obama administration. The agency has officially established the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC).

According to the FDA, the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee has been given the duties of providing advice, information, and recommendations to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs on health, safety, and dependence relating to tobacco products. According to the Final Rule, the committee will submit reports and recommendations on topics including the following:

--The impact of the use of menthol in cigarettes on the public health, including such use among children, African-Americans, Hispanics and other racial and ethnic minorities;

--The nature and impact of the use of dissolvable tobacco products on the public health, including such use on children;

--The effects of the alteration of nicotine yields from tobacco products and whether there is a threshold level below which nicotine yields do not product dependence on the tobacco product involved;

--Any application submitted by a manufacturer for a modified risk tobacco product.

The TPSAC will consist of 12 members, including the Chair to be selected by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs. The members will be from experts in the fields of medicine, medical ethics, science, or technology involving the manufacture, evaluation or use of tobacco products. There will be nine technically qualified voting and three non-voting members. Seven of the nine voting members will be physicians, dentists, scientists, or health care professionals practicing in the area of oncology, pulmonology, cardiology, toxicology, pharmacology, addiction, or any other relevant specialty. One member will be an officer or employee of a State or local government or of the Federal Government, and the final member a representative from the general public. The three non-voting members will be identified with tobacco industry interests.

Three related Federal Register documents are now on display today and being published, announcing the establishment of the new advisory committee, requesting nominations for voting members to serve on the committee, and requesting nominations for non-voting members. The documents can be accessed at http://www.federalregister.gov/inspection.aspx#reg_F.

Adapted from a press release by the FDA and the Final Rule.

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