Smoking rates point to promoting cessation

Executive Summary

Research showing smoking rates of U.S. adults are not declining could elevate FDA's authority to approve smoking-cessation products under the tobacco control act. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Nov. 13 said data from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey show little to no change in smoking rates in the past five years. The study found 46 million U.S. people (20.6 percent) were smokers in 2008, essentially the same as the 2004 rate of 20.9 percent. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act directs FDA to consider changing the way it reviews smoking cessation products, which would allow the agency to create opportunities for new products and expand markets for existing products (1"The Tan Sheet" Sept. 7, 2009)