Other Announcements

FDA request for comments: Impact of dissolvable tobacco use on public health
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) will have a series of dockets open through the Federal Register to solicit information on issues related to the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Currently, there is an open docket seeking information on how the use of dissolvable tobacco products may impact public health, including use among children. The deadline for comments is September 18, 2010. Click here for more information on how to submit comments.

FDA docket for comments on outdoor tobacco marketing and advertising
In March, FDA issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking in order to solicit comments, data, and research on outdoor tobacco marketing and advertising. Click here for more background information and information on how to submit comments, go to www.regulations.gov, and search for Federal Docket #FDA–2010–N–0136). Electronic or written comments can be submitted through May 18, 2010.

HHS announces grantees for Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $650 million in grants to communities to carry out evidence-based clinical and community-based prevention strategies. The initiative emphasizes policy and environmental changes, and seeks to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, decrease obesity rates, and decrease smoking prevalence, youth smoking initiation, and secondhand smoke exposure. Click here to read more about the initiative, or view a list of grantees by program, or by state.

A look at the healthcare overhaul bill
Congress has approved the healthcare reform bill that aims to expand Medicaid and mandate health insurance to cover uninsured individuals and reform the insurance market, among other measures. The bill also makes investments in evidence-based practices to prevent disease, including tobacco use reduction strategies. Smoking cessation services will be expanded by group health plans and insurers, Medicaid will be expanded to cover smoking cessation treatment, and a new prevention trust fund will be made to finance public health activities throughout the country. Click here to read more about the bill’s features; click here to read how the bill relates to tobacco control.

Nonsmokers' Rights Legal Research and Advocacy Competition
Law students are invited to submit an innovative 1,000 word proposal on the use of legal research and advocacy to further the advancement of nonsmokers' rights. Finalists will be offered a travel grant to the Seventh World Conference on Nonsmokers' Rights in Washington, DC to compete for the grand prize of $5,000. This competition is sponsored by the Seventh World Conference on Nonsmokers Rights, the National Center for Nonsmokers' Rights, and Law Professor John F. Banzhaf III of the George Washington University Law School. The application deadline is May 1, 2010. Click here for more information.

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