In 2009, with the passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the FDA was given the authority to regulate tobacco products. Now the FDA and National Institutes of Health are teaming up to study whether the ensuing regulations, such as new warnings and labels on cigarette packs, have affected smokers. From a release:
Investigators will follow more than 40,000 users of tobacco-product and those at risk for tobacco use ages 12 and older. They will examine what makes people susceptible to tobacco use; evaluate use patterns and resulting health problems; study patterns of tobacco cessation and relapse in the era of tobacco regulation; evaluate the effects of regulatory changes on risk perceptions and other tobacco-related attitudes; and assess differences in attitudes, behaviors and key health outcomes in racial-ethnic, gender, and age subgroups.
Study findings will help the FDA assess the impact of the Tobacco Control Act and will inform the agency about how to best use its tobacco regulatory authorities, such as making decisions about marketing of products, setting product standards, and communicating the risks from tobacco use to protect the public health.
Previously: Study shows anti-tobacco programs targeting adults also curb teen smoking, A conversation about the FDA’s new graphic health warnings for cigarettes, Cigarette ads turn teens on to smoking, Massachusetts stores may be required to post graphic anti-smoking signs and Australia enacts world’s first ban on branded cigarette packaging
Photo by Melanie Tata