The Scientific Basis of Tobacco Product Regulation - World Health ...

Preface
Tobacco product regulation — regulating the contents and emissions of
tobacco products by testing, mandating disclosure of test results and regulating
the packaging and labelling of tobacco products — is a pillar of
any comprehensive tobacco control programme. The Contracting Parties
to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control (WHO FCTC) are legally bound by the treaty’s provisions on
tobacco product regulation, contained in its Articles 9, 10 and 11.
The information provided by the ad hoc WHO Scientific Advisory Committee
on Tobacco Product Regulation, established in 2000 to fill gaps in
knowledge on tobacco product regulation, served as the basis for the
negotiations and the subsequent consensus on the language of the aforementioned
articles of the treaty.
In November 2003, in recognition of the importance of regulating tobacco
products, the WHO Director-General formalized the Scientific Advisory
Committee into the WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation
(TobReg). TobReg’s membership comprises national and international
experts on product regulation, treatment of tobacco dependence, laboratory
analysis of tobacco contents and emissions and design features. Its
work is based on current research, and it also conducts research and
proposes testing to fill regulatory gaps in tobacco control. The Director-
General reports to the Executive Board on the results and recommendations
of the Study Group in order to draw the attention of Member States
to WHO’s efforts in tobacco product regulation.
This technical report was prepared by TobReg in accordance with the priorities
of the WHO Tobacco Free Initiative and the provisions of the WHO
FCTC concerning tobacco product regulation, in response to requests from
Member States in which the population is affected by the issues addressed.
The fourth meeting of TobReg was held at Stanford University, California,
United States of America, on 25–27 July 2007. The agenda was prepared
to respond partly to Decision 15 of the first session of the Conference of
Parties to the WHO FCTC, held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 6–17 February
2006, when the Parties adopted templates for guidelines for implementing
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