The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday said it is creating a 12-person panel to advise the agency on sensitive areas of overseeing the tobacco industry, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The panel, which will include three tobacco industry representatives, will advise the FDA on the impact of menthol in cigarettes, the use of descriptors such as "light" on tobacco packages and other sensitive issues as the agency grapples with implementing new powers to oversee the massive tobacco industry.
Tobacco legislation signed into law this year bans companies from selling flavored tobacco products, but not menthol cigarettes. One area where the panel will likely have a large impact is smokeless tobacco. The new law says tobacco manufacturer can't market smokeless products as less risky unless they prove so. The panel will likely advise the agency on setting benchmarks for what data are necessary to determine whether one tobacco product is less risky than another. The FDA says the panel will also advise the agency on how smokeless tobacco products affect public health, particularly that of children.
The agency is seeking nominations for the panel members. Eight of the members will be experts in medicine, medical ethics science and tobacco technology, according to a press release from the FDA. The three members from the industry, who will not have voting power, will be taken from small and large tobacco manufacturing companies and tobacco farmers. There will be one person from the general public on the panel.
The FDA's new powers allow the agency to restrict tobacco advertising and promotions, collect user fees from tobacco companies and stop the illegal sales of cigarettes and other products to children. (pi)