The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Thursday announced a national study to find out the effects of new tobacco regulation on smokers.

Researchers will follow more than 40,000 people, aged 12 and older, who use cigarettes and other tobacco products or are at risk. The findings will guide FDA in creating programs, policies to eliminate smoking and to inform people about the risks of tobacco products.
The study goals include: determining what makes people susceptible to smoking and tobacco use; evaluating tobacco use patterns and resulting health problems; analyzing patterns of quitting and relapse; and evaluating how changes in regulations affect people's perceptions of risk and other attitudes.
The researchers will also examine differences in tobacco-related attitudes, behaviors and health outcomes in men and women and people in different ethnic/racial and age groups
The study is the first large-scale FDA/NIH collaboration on tobacco regulation research since the Tobacco Control Act was passed in 2009. It will be coordinated by scientific experts at the NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products. (pi)