Following the fourth WHO Scientific Advisory Committee Meeting on Tobacco Product Regulation (SACTob) in Oslo, the Australian Ministry of Health invited WHO to convene its fifth SACTob meeting in Brisbane and provided financial support for the meeting. The meeting took place on 25-27 November 2002.

Prior to the meeting, background papers had been commissioned on additives to tobacco products, modified/re-engineered cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco. The Committee decided that it would issue two recommendations.

The Committee also issued a Statement of Principles Guiding the Evaluation of New, or Modified Tobacco Products. It was agreed that Members would finalize the outputs after the meeting. These recommendations and the statement of principles that was released during the 6th session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB6) of the WHO FCTC in Geneva, on 17-28 February 2003 include the following:

Recommendation on tobacco product ingredients and emissions

Recommendation on smokeless tobacco products

Statement of principles guiding the evaluation of new, or modified tobacco products