FDA and Tobacco
Congress empowered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products with the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 (FSPTCA) that became law on June 22, 2009. Since then, the FDA has adopted a number of measures to implement the law. As directed by FSPTCA, the agency established the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) in August of 2009 and Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) in March of 2010. The objective of the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) is to oversee the implementation of the FSPTCA. The priority for the CTP is to keep young people from using tobacco products. To this end, it will employ and enforce a set of regulatory rules involving the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products, and provide FDA information about the contents of tobacco products that are harmful or potentially harmful to public health as would be established by the TPSAC and approved by FDA.
FDA Issue Briefs by CTGR
- Summary of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
- Center for Tobacco Products
- Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee
- The Use of Menthol in Cigarettes
Links to More Information from the FDA Website
Full text of the Tobacco Control Act
The Center for Tobacco Products
Recent Articles Concerning FDA Regulation:
June 29, 2010: Lorillard goes on the offensive over menthol cigs (Associated Press)
June 27, 2010: FDA tobacco-control center starts 2nd year with big steps ahead (courier-journal.com, Louisville, Kentucky and Southern Indiana)
June 22, 2010: FDA takes its time on tobacco regulation (Associated Press)
May 26, 2010: FDA Tobacco Regulator Promises Firm Approach, Open Mind (Wall Street Journal)
March 30, 2010: Effect of Menthol on Smoking Unclear (Wall Street Journal)
March 29, 2010: F.D.A. to Examine Menthol Cigarettes (New York Times)
Upcoming Meetings
You can watch meetings and view information from past meetings at: .
June 8-9, 2010
The Tobacco Constituents Subcommittee of the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee will be meeting to receive presentations and discuss the development of a list of harmful or potentially harmful constituents, including smoke constituents, in tobacco products. Topics for discussion will include the criteria for selection of the constituents, developing a proposed list of harmful or potentially harmful constituents, the rationale for including each constituent, and the acceptable analytical methods for assessing the quantity of each constituent.
July 15- 16, 2010
On July 15 - 16, 2010, the committee will 1) hear and discuss a presentation on dissolvable tobacco products in order to prepare for the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee’s required report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding the impact of the use of dissolvable tobacco products on the public health, 2) receive updates on upcoming committee business related to menthol, including Agency requests for information from industry on menthol cigarettes in order to prepare for the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee’s required report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding the impact of use of menthol in cigarettes on the public health, and 3) hear and discuss industry presentations on menthol in cigarettes as they relate to five topics: characterization of menthol, clinical effects of menthol, biomarkers of disease risk, marketing data, and population effects. On July 16, the committee will continue discussions.
Contact Us
Center for Tobacco Grower Research
302B Morgan Hall
2621 Morgan Circle Drive
Knoxville, Tennessee 37932
Phone: 865.974.0414
ctgr@utk.edu