Star Says Consumers Should be Fully Informed

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 06/12/2010

In responding to a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) request for comments on harmful constituents in tobacco products, spokesmen for Star Scientific and Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals have come out in support of the 2000 Surgeon General's report, which said, in part, that consumers of tobacco products should be fully informed of the ingredients and additives in those products, and of any known toxicity that results from their use as intended. They were in agreement, too, with the report's statement that tobacco products should be no more harmful than necessary, given available technology. Dr. Curtis Wright, senior vice president, and Ryan Lanier, PhD, of Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, on Tuesday made a presentation on tobacco toxins to the FDA Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Subcommittee on Tobacco Product Constituents. This subcommittee of the agency's Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee was formed to help the FDA comply with a congressional mandate to publish a list of harmful constituents in tobacco products, and the levels found in each product, within two years of the passage of the June 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Lanier said that he and Wright, in his capacity as a technical and scientific advisor to Star Scientific, had submitted written comments on tobacco toxin labeling to the FDA in September last year. "Tuesday's presentation focused on the well-known and researched carcinogens found in tobacco; the reality that adult tobacco users have the right to make informed choices about the tobacco products they use; and that if it is possible to reduce or remove a known carcinogen in tobacco, companies have an obligation to do so," he said. "A body of peer-reviewed literature has made it clear for almost a decade that there are significant differences in the levels of carcinogens found in tobacco products due to variations in curing and manufacturing practices. A landmark study in the journal, Tobacco Control, by Gray et. al. showed up to 9-fold differences in carcinogen levels in the same cigarette brands, and a recent article from the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] in Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention reports that lowering the levels of the carcinogen NNK in the mainstream smoke of cigarettes through the use of specific tobacco types and known curing practices can significantly affect the exposure of smokers to this known carcinogen. "It is our hope that the FDA will both publish a list of the toxicants and carcinogens that are well documented to be linked with tobacco harm, and also will require tobacco product manufacturers to include the levels of these toxins on product packaging." Enditem