Study to Assess Regulations’ Impact on Tobacco Users

(National Institute of Mental Health)

The Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health today announced a joint national study of tobacco users to gauge the behavioral and health impacts of new government tobacco regulations. The Tobacco Control Act National Longitudinal Study of Tobacco Users is the first large-scale collaboration on tobacco regulatory research since Congress granted FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products in 2009.

Westat Inc. in Rockville, Maryland was awarded the research contract. Researchers plan to follow more than 40,000 users of tobacco products and those at risk for tobacco use ages 12 and older. They will examine factors affecting tobacco use, including:

• Susceptibility of people to tobacco
• Tobacco use patterns and resulting health problems
• Patterns of tobacco cessation and relapse as regulations of tobacco increase
• Effects of regulatory changes on risk perceptions and other tobacco-related attitudes
• Differences in attitudes, behaviors and key health outcomes in racial-ethnic, gender, and age subgroups.

Study findings are expected to help FDA assess the impact of the Tobacco Control Act and guide the agency on using its tobacco regulatory authority. That authority should help make decisions on product marketing, setting product standards, and communicating the risks of tobacco use to protect the public health.

Read more: Panel: Make Cigarettes Non-Addictive

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