At the sixth annual meeting, the WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation (WHO TobReg) focused on issues critical to advancing the field of tobacco product regulation, particularly in the context of the discussions surrounding tobacco product regulation at the 4th Conference of Parties to the WHO FCTC. The agenda items tabled at this TobReg meeting include:
- heavy metals in tobacco products;
- toxic waste and environmental damage caused by cigarette butts;
- the epigenetic effects of exposure to tobacco smoke;
- issues surrounding a global nicotine policy;
- a regulatory framework to reduce the addictiveness of tobacco products.
The resulting TobReg advisory opinion was compiled into the 4th report of a WHO Study on Tobacco Product Regulation - Technical Report Series 967, which was presented at the January 2012 Executive Board meeting.
WHO TobReg, previously known as the Scientific Advisory Committee on Tobacco Product Regulation (SACTob), advises WHO on scientifically sound recommendations for Member States to achieve the most effective and evidence-based means to fill regulatory gaps in tobacco control, to develop a coordinated regulatory framework for tobacco products, to guide international policy and to facilitate access to scientific information. Its membership is drawn from national and international experts on product regulation, tobacco dependence treatment, risk assessment, marketing, toxicology, disease reduction, environmental tobacco smoke, water pipes, smokeless tobacco, and laboratory analysis of tobacco contents, emissions and design features.