FDA CTP - July 15-16, 2010 - next meeting of scientific advisiory committee..

May 24, 2010 - The US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) is due to meet on July 15-16, 2010 to discuss menthol and dissolvable tobacco products.

On July 15th the committee will 1) hear and discuss a presentation on dissolvable tobacco products in order to prepare for the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee’s required report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding the impact of the use of dissolvable tobacco products on the public health, 2) receive updates on upcoming committee business related to menthol, including Agency requests for information from industry on menthol cigarettes in order to prepare for the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee’s required report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding the impact of use of menthol in cigarettes on the public health, and 3) hear and discuss industry presentations on menthol in cigarettes as they relate to five topics: characterization of menthol, clinical effects of menthol, biomarkers of disease risk, marketing data, and population effects.

At one time, Dr. Laurence R. Deyton, director of CTP had indicated that dissolvable products are the second priority for review by the FDA office, after menthol cigarettes.(U.S. - senator urges FDA to pull dissolvable tobacco products from test market sites..) If the FDA is sincere about curbing access to and appeal of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products to children and adolescents in the United States then we can't have tobacco dissolvables in dosage forms such as: pellets, sticks and edible strips for the tongue. (Camel Dissolvables - can they be considered candy-like..) One way these products could exist is to have all flavoring removed. (Part 2: avoidance of nicotine addiction - remove the flavoring from all tobacco products..)