A Public Participation Forum for the FDA Center for Tobacco Products and its Federal Advisory Committee (TPSAC)

Thomson Reuters

By Jacob Hale Russell

(Reuters) – The Federal Drug Administration is considering a recommendation that an independent body should monitor some research put to the agency by tobacco companies, underscoring the growing concern about conflicts of interest in scientific research.

The recommendation was submitted by the Institute of Medicine, a scientific research organization that’s part of the National Academy of Sciences, and is based on its 2011 report. It suggests that any research provided to the FDA by manufacturers of so-called modified-risk tobacco products, which companies want to market as “less” risky, should be overseen by an independent body.

Fox  News

WASHINGTON –

Big tobacco companies are breathing a sigh of relief Friday morning.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has scrapped a series of graphic warning labels for cigarettes.

It’s decided not to challenge a court ruling which said the shocking images violated free speech protections.

Attorney General Eric Holder says the FDA will propose new labels. However, that could take a few years.

The Hill

By Ben Goad

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considerating of a series of year-old regulatory recommendations issued by a coalition of tobacco companies. 

Editor’s Note:  The author of the following article concludes:

“The FDA has done an admirable job – to date – resisting the entreaties of anti-tobacco protesters to use the legislation as a vehicle for a full on assault on cigarette makers.”

We agree and suggest that all stakeholders express their support for FDA’s insistence on basing decisions on sound science. However  CRE is very concerned  about the following statement:

” Activists have managed to infiltrate the middle ranks of the agency’s center“

Bloomberg