This report makes available the findings of an international group of experts that provide WHO with the latest scientific and technical advice in the area of product regulation. The third report presents the conclusions reached and recommendations made by the members of the WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation at its fifth meeting, during which it reviewed two background papers specially commissioned for the meeting and which dealt, respectively, with the following two themes: devices designed for the purpose of nicotine delivery to the respiratory system in which tobacco is not necessary for their operation and setting regulatory limits for carcinogens in smokeless tobacco. The Study Group's recommendations in relation to each theme are set out at the end of the section dealing with that theme. Its overall recommendations are summarized in section 4. The Study Group intends this new set of recommendations to be useful to WHO Member States and national policymakers and regulators in shaping tobacco control policy.

The "Handbook" covers how the effects of a tobacco control policy are determined, the core constructs for understanding how and why a given policy works, the potential moderator variables to consider when evaluating a given policy and the data sources that might be useful for evaluation. The "Handbook" includes logic models outlining relevant constructs for evaluating the effectiveness of policies on tobacco taxation, smoke-free environments, tobacco product regulations, limits on tobacco marketing communications, product labeling, anti-tobacco public communication campaigns and tobacco use cessation interventions.

A new study from the Life Sciences Research Office, Inc. (LSRO), Scientific Methods to Evaluate Potential Reduced-Risk Tobacco Products, outlines laboratory and clinical testing approaches for the assessment of tobacco products with the potential to reduce the risks of cigarette smoking for individuals who switch from cigarettes to these products. This report and the scientific evaluation approach outlined by LSRO will be of interest to a number of audiences including academic, government and industry researchers; tobacco control and public health organizations; agencies with regulatory oversight of tobacco products, such as the Federal Trade Commission; as well as individuals involved in the development of legislation providing regulatory authority over tobacco products to public health organizations, such as the Food and Drug Administration, and agency staff. The report will also be of interest to current smokers (and their friends and family) who are unable or unwilling to quit smoking but are interested in reducing their risks due to smoking. This report was produced under a contract between Philip Morris USA, Inc. (Philip Morris) and LSRO. Findings, conclusions, and recommendations were developed independently of Philip Morris and represent the views of LSRO. - Publishers website.

This report presents the conclusions reached and recommendations made by the members of the WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation (TobReg) at its seventh meeting in December 2013 during which it reviewed background papers specially commissioned for the meeting and which dealt respectively with the following four themes: Novel tobacco products including potential reduced exposure products ; Smokeless tobacco products: research needs and regulatory recommendations ; Reduced ignition propensity cigarettes: research needs and regulatory recommendations and Non-exhaustive priority list of toxic contents and emissions of tobacco products. The Study Group's recommendations in relation to each theme are set out at the end of the section dealing with that theme; its overall recommendations are summarized in Chapter 6.

"Summaries of papers" contained in the journal accompany each issue, 19--