health
Independent oversight needed for studies on modified-risk tobacco, IOM says
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 9, 2012
Companies that manufacture modified-risk tobacco products such as e-cigarettes and tobacco lozenges should use third parties to oversee product research, says a Dec. 14 Institute of Medicine report.
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 requires makers of such products to receive pre-market approval and provide the Food and Drug Administration scientific proof of the benefits of lower-risk tobacco products to users and the general population.
Having independent oversight would help address widespread mistrust of tobacco company-sponsored research and provide some assurance that research submitted to the FDA is reliable, the report said (link).
"Having trusted third parties oversee the conduct of research could help re-engage scientists and enable a generation of credible research data on the health effects of these products," said Jane Henney, MD, chair of the committee that wrote the report and a professor of medicine and public health sciences at the University of Cincinnati.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/01/09/hlbf0109.htm.
