A federal judge ruled three voting members of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) tobacco science advisory panel had conflicts of interest, and barred FDA from using a 2011 report on menthol cigarettes, Bloomberg reported.

US District Court Judge Richard Leon, upholding a complaint filed by Lorillard, maker of the country’s leading menthol brand, and RJ Reynolds Tobacco, said the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) must be reconstituted, according to Bloomberg.
Tobacco companies had complained the three members served as paid expert witnesses in anti-tobacco cases and as consultants for drug companies on smoking cessation. Only one of the three TPSAC members, Dr Jonathan Samet, still serves on the panel, according to a report by the Associated Press.
“Conflicts of interest – whether actual or perceived – undermine the public’s confidence in the agency’s decision-making process”, Judge Leon reportedly wrote in his decision.