Other Announcements

General

HHS awards $31 million more for prevention and wellness projects
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced awards totaling $31 million to ten communities and one state health department as part of the Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) program. The awards are designed to give communities the resources to make healthy choices available to residents, such as improving access to safe places for physical activity to prevent obesity or promoting smokefree environments to decrease tobacco use. Of the eleven new awards, ten are for obesity prevention, and one is for tobacco cessation efforts. Click here to read more and view the full list of grantees and projects.

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website updates
The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) website has been redesigned to offer an easy-to-use online store. The store offers print and electronic copies of substance abuse and mental health publications such as brochures, manuals, workbooks, and promotional items. To make ordering publications from SAMHSA's online store easier and faster, users may create a SAMHSA store account to store their information, track orders, and create a list of favorite publications. Click here to learn more or click here to register for an account to order print copies of SAMHSA’s publications.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and partners launch Public Health Law Network
On September 20, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and partners launched the Public Health Law Network to provide support in addressing public health challenges through legal and policy solutions. The network can provide policymakers and public health advocates with legal expertise on a variety of public health topics, including tobacco control. The network includes regional centers based at five academic institutions. Click here for more information.

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FDA Announcements

CTP Stakeholder Discussion Series sessions
The FDA Center for Tobacco Products has updated the Stakeholder Discussion Series schedule with several new dates. Each session, moderated by an expert facilitator, will focus on key topics specific to the primary stakeholder community present. A limited number of individuals have been invited to actively participate in the discussions, but the sessions are open to any observers who register in advance, as space allows. Call-in information for those observing the October 3 session with State and Local Tobacco Control Officials via teleconference is now available. Click here to view the Stakeholder Discussion Series schedule.

Draft guidance for FDA and tobacco retailers: Civil money penalties and no-tobacco-sale orders for tobacco retailers
FDA has released a draft guidance document describing civil monetary penalties and no-tobacco-sale orders for retailers found to be in violation of Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) requirements related to tobacco products. The guidance document describes how the FDA intends to identify violations of the FDCA, what constitutes a violation of minimum age requirements for tobacco sales, when the FDA may seek fines and no-tobacco-sales orders, and procedures for how to implement these penalties. Additionally, the amount of civil money penalty assessed and factors to consider when seeking no-tobacco-sale orders are discussed. Guidance documents are intended to communicate FDA’s current ideas on a particular topic, and are considered recommendations instead of legally-binding documents. Click here to read the draft guidance, or click here to view the document in the Federal Register (docket # FDA-2010-D-0431) and submit a comment to FDA electronically. Electronic and written comments on the draft guidance are being accepted through November 1, 2010.

Updates on FDA's "Break the Chain of Tobacco Addiction" campaign
FDA has begun a new campaign designed to educate retailers and raise awareness of new tobacco regulations. The campaign, “Break the Chain of Tobacco Addiction,” focuses on protecting youth from tobacco use by encouraging retailers to comply with the law prohibiting tobacco sales to minors. Campaign-related tools such as posters, flyers, badges, and widgets are available online, alongside other ways for retailers to learn more about tobacco legislation, such as a frequently asked questions page, podcasts, factsheets, and draft guidance documents. There are also links to sign up for tobacco regulation updates from FDA via email, text message, Twitter, and RSS. FDA has launched a six-month text messaging campaign pilot to educate and raise awareness about federal tobacco product regulations. The text messaging campaign includes informational text messages and a contest in which the winners will have the opportunity to be featured on the FDA and CDC’s biweekly podcast series. Click here to view the campaign website.

FDA posts question-and-answer page for consumers on e-cigarettes and light cigarettes
FDA recently posted two new Consumer Update webpages, one on e-cigarettes and the other on “light” tobacco products. The webpage about e-cigarettes outlines the concerns FDA has about e-cigarettes, describes the warning FDA recently sent to e-cigarette companies, and provides information for people who want to quit smoking. The webpage about “light” cigarettes provides information on the FDA’s campaign to inform smokers that there is no such thing as a safe cigarette, federal restrictions on the use of the words “light,” “low,” and “mild” on tobacco products now on the market, and tobacco-related illnesses and death in the U.S. The Consumer Update on “light” cigarettes is also available in a printer-friendly PDF. Click here to read more about e-cigarettes, or click here to visit the consumer information page about “light” cigarettes.

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