FDA, NIH To Create Tobacco Centers

FDA plans to spend up to $53 million in fiscal 2013 to establish 14 Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science. The centers will conduct research to better understand the risks associated with the use of tobacco products and ultimately help inform tobacco regulation. User fees paid by the tobacco industry to FDA will fund the centers. The centers will be coordinated by NIH’s Office of Disease Prevention and administered by three NIH institutes: the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute. Research conducted at the centers will focus on seven areas: tobacco product diversity, addiction, toxicity, adverse health consequences, communications, marketing, and economics and policies. FDA expects to award $273 million over the next five years to support the centers.