Industry’s attitude toward potential reforms of FDA’s nicotine and tobacco policy

Under new leadership at HHS and FDA, dramatic changes appear to be on the way for U.S. nicotine and tobacco policy.  Though the pace and scope of change within FDA and CTP are unprecedented and controversial, it should be recalled that the nicotine vaping marketplace was uniformly seen to be in disarray by all stakeholders, with some 90% of available products being illicit.  Is it possible to achieve a new nicotine and tobacco policy that is capable of producing consensus support – recognizing that there is a need to be mindful of the different interests and concerns of legacy tobacco companies, tobacco control groups, small manufacturers, and consumers?  Given that prior landmark tobacco control measures were enabled by an agreement between tobacco control and industry actors—most notably the Master Settlement Agreement and the Tobacco Control Act itself—it is essential to analyze the likely perspectives of the various stakeholders.  The goal would be to determine the potential for overlapping support for elements of a reformed policy and thereby identify the “art of the possible” when it comes to nicotine and tobacco policy reform.