Other Announcements

General

Registration is now open for TTAC's Web-based courses
The Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium is offering two upcoming distance learning courses for public health practitioners. The 6-week Logic Model Essentials web-based course provides an understanding of the purpose and features of a logic model, the skills and tools needed to build a logic model, and knowledge of the important ways to apply logic model results. The next session of Logic Model Essentials will be held from January 10, 2011 through February 18, 2011. The 12-week Fundamentals of Evaluation web-based course guides participants through the evaluation process – from planning to reporting results – while giving them the opportunity to develop their own evaluation plan. The next Fundamentals of Evaluation course will be offered from February 28, 2011 - May 20, 2011. Both courses offer an engaging learning experience with visual aids, group discussion, self-assessments, and individual learning activities. Click here to register.

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FDA Announcements

New Center for Tobacco Products webpage
The FDA's Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) has launched a new webpage designed to provide state, local, territorial, and tribal government partners with FDA tobacco regulation information. The page currently contains information about state enforcement contract awards, retail guidance documents, details of the Tobacco Control Act, and descriptions of public dockets, guidance documents, laws, and regulations, among other topics. New information and tools will be added on a regular basis. Click here to visit the new page.

FDA seeking public comments on proposed cigarette product warning labels
As part of its new proposed rule, Required Warnings for Cigarette Packages and Advertisements, the FDA will require nine new textual warning statements accompanied by color graphics to be placed on 50% of the front and back panels of each cigarette package. The FDA is seeking public comments on the proposed rule, as well as opinions on 36 different proposed graphics, through January 9, 2011. Final regulations will be issued by June 22, 2011, and implementation will occur fifteen months later. Click here to read more about the proposed rule, and to learn how to submit comments about it to the FDA.

FDA Federal Register Notice regarding dissolvable tobacco products
The FDA has posted a Federal Register Notice soliciting comments on the FDA's request for information from tobacco companies regarding the use of dissolvable tobacco products. In order to assess the impact of the use of dissolvable tobacco products on the public health, the FDA has proposed that it will require tobacco companies to provide their internal documents for review, including those related to research, marketing information, and health effects. The FDA is specifically seeking suggestions from the public related to whether the proposed collection of information is necessary and useful; whether the burden of the proposed collection of information has been accurately estimated; ways to improve the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents. Comments must be submitted either electronically or by mail by December 27, 2010. Click here for more information on how to submit comments, or contact Jonna Capezzuto for more information.

New podcast and PSA on unpackaged cigarettes and smokeless tobacco: What retailers need to know
Together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FDA has developed a podcast and public service announcement designed to help retailers understand new federal regulations surrounding the sale of unpackaged tobacco products. The materials explain that in order to comply with the law, retailers may not break open packages of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to sell or distribute individually or in smaller quantities than a full pack. These regulations are intended to prevent youth from purchasing tobacco products. Listen to the podcast and PSA.

Materials from recent Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) meetings
The FDA has posted materials from the October 7 and November 18 meetings of the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) in which the committee discussed the impact of the use of menthol cigarettes on public health. The use of menthol cigarettes among youth, African-Americans, Hispanics, and other racial and ethnic minorities was the focus of these meetings. General information and materials from both meetings are available here. Click here to hear a recording of the webcast of the November 18 meeting. The panel has a March 2011 deadline to determine what regulations, if any, they will place on menthol cigarettes. The next TPSAC meeting will be held in January 2011. To receive meeting information as soon as it is released, sign up for email updates from FDA.

CTP releases new information about Stakeholder Discussion Series sessions
The FDA's Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) is hosting a series of meetings with stakeholders affected by tobacco product regulation. Each session will be moderated by an expert facilitator and will focus on key topics specific to the primary stakeholder community present. An agenda and registration information is now available for the session on December 8 for Tobacco Manufacturers and Growers. Click here to read more.

Enforcement Action Plan for Promotion and Advertising Restrictions
In October, the FDA Center for Tobacco Products released its Enforcement Action Plan for Promotion and Advertising Restrictions. The plan describes FDA's plans for monitoring potential violations in promotion and advertising, including the targeting of youth and those in minority communities; how the FDA may use their state tobacco contractor to conduct surveillance in regards to promotion and advertising; the enforcement tools the agency has at its disposal; and educational efforts to obtain voluntary compliance by retailers, manufacturers and distributors. Click here to download the Enforcement Action Plan for Promotion and Advertising Restrictions.

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