ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross and Jody Manley have just returned from an FDA workshop on modified risk tobacco products (MRTP), which was convened as directed in the 2009 law granting regulatory authority over tobacco products to the FDA. The goal is to assess the form that such regulation will take over MRTPs such as smokeless and dissolvable tobacco, as well as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). Fourteen speakers with varying degrees of expertise on MRTPs briefly presented their opinions, prior to a variety of panel discussions designed to provide the FDA with the input they need to approve marketing tobacco products that make modified risk claims.
Dr. Ross presented the ACSH position on MRTPs, focusing on smokeless tobacco and drawing from much of the research that s part of ACSH advisor Dr. Brad Rodu s recent publication on the topic.
Says Dr. Ross, The workshop public presentations all expressed strong opinions in support of the potential for tobacco harm reduction products to make a major impact on the lives of the 45 million Americans who remain addicted to smoking cigarettes.
