The Scientific Basis of Tobacco Product Regulation: Report of a WHO Study Group

The third meeting of the WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation (TobReg) was held in Kobe, Japan from 28 to 30 June 2006. The meeting was held in response to Decision 15 of the first session of the Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (1), held in Geneva, Switzerland from 6 to 17 February 2006. During that session, the Parties adopted the templates for the elaboration of guidelines for the implementation of Articles 9 and 10 of the Framework Convention, which relate to the regulation of the contents of tobacco products and of tobacco product disclosures. According to the template, work on the guidelines should be based on the work already done by the Study Group and the WHO Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI), which serves as the Study Group’s secretariat and coordinating body. This report presents the conclusions reached and recommendations made by the members of the Study Group at its third meeting, during which it reviewed four background papers specially commissioned for the meeting and which dealt, respectively, with the following four themes. 1. The contents and design features of tobacco products: their relationship to dependence potential and consumer appeal. 2. Candy-flavoured tobacco products: research needs and regulatory recommendations. 3. Biomarkers of tobacco exposure and of tobacco smoke-induced health effects. 4. Setting maximum limits for toxic constituents in cigarette smoke. The Study Group’s recommendations in relation to each theme are set out at the end of the section dealing with that theme; its overall recommendations are summarized in section 6.