TPSAC Meeting Schedule 2010 (as of May 2010)

Individuals or organizations who wish to have their testimony highlighted on this Interactive Public  Docket should post a copy  on this page

June 8-9 – Tobacco Constituents Subcommittee of the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee

July 15-16 – Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee

August 30-31 – Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee

November 18-19 – Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee

Law Enforcement Alliance of America Sounds Alarm About Illicit Tobacco Trade (Emphasizes Menthol Ban)

Please submit your comments in the “comments” section below.

House Hearing Will Draw Attention to Contraband Tobacco Issue

SPRINGFIELD, Va., May 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Law Enforcement Alliance of America (LEAA) today said the illegal tobacco trade is draining law enforcement resources and new policies being considered may make it worse, as the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee examines the magnitude of tobacco smuggling today in the United States.

FDA Issues RFI on Advertising Menthol Products for Minority Groups

The RFI is reproduced in part below.

Please send copies of your comments to this IPD here .

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0207]

Tobacco Product Advertising and Promotion to Youth and Racial and
Ethnic Minority Populations; Request for Comments

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice; request for data and information.

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NOTE TO STAKEHOLDERS: e-peer review request

Central to the efficient operaton of  TPSAC  is to have its  decisions based upon peer reviewed studies.

Please post studies that you believe should be subject to peer review in the “Study and Concepts Under Review” forum to the right.

In addition feel free to offer your comments on any of the studies posted on the site. You need not register or disclose your name.

To this end,  please submit comments on the Hersey etal study.  We would also welcome comments on our analysis of the said study.

FDA on Transparency: One Policy for FDA Stakeholders–a Different One for FDA

Inside Health Policy reports:

“Long-sought draft recommendations from FDA’s Transparency Task Force on data disclosure would enable the agency to release a slew of previously veiled information to the public, sparking the ire of stakeholders, with industry saying many of the recommendations would stifle innovation and cause tension between medical product manufacturers and their investors, who proposals don’t go far enough, complaining that FDA will determine when to release data and that resource constraints will hamper the agency’s ability to redact proprietary information for public disclosure.”

Lack of Transparency: A Trend at FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products?

In the very short period of time this Interactive Public Docket has been in operation it appears that a trend of non-transparency may be emerging within FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products.

Read herein,  for example,  the unwilligness of the Center to release names of an advisory committee, the sneak attack on OMB to seek the release of a gignatic paperwork submission and finally appointing members of an advisory committee who  many say are biased without any public input.

An Open Invitation to FDA: Please Disclose Names of Subcommittee Members

A subcommittee of the FDA tobacco advisory committee is meeting on June 8 and 9.

Articles written by numerous individuals, copies of  which are posted on this page , took strong exception with some of the appointments to the full committee because of alleged conflicts.

FDA should publish immediately the name of the  Chair of the aforementioned subcommitee, a list of the other members of the committee and their scientific backgrounds accompanied be a web accessible list of their publications.

Upon publication of the said material, CRE will publish the information on this site for public comment.

Altria Petitions HHS To Remove Panel Members; HHS Denies Petition (Also See FDA Secret Request to OMB)

In a surprising a move, Altria a strong proponent of the new tobacco control act , petitioned HHS to remove some panel members from the advisory committtee.

Altria states:

” .. the Appointees…have biases arising from their active and zealous participation as  paid expert witnesses for plaintiffs in law suits against tobacco product maufacturers…”

HHS responds:

” A stated opinon on a scientific matter does not necessarily mean that a member would have a closed mind on a particular issue..”

Several accomplished members of the national press disagree  with HHS,  please see Press Comments .