The FDA and NIH last week announced an award up to $53 million for the creation of 14 Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science (TCORS). The TCORS, which represent an on-going interagency partnership, will generate research needed to ensure that U.S. tobacco regulatory actions and activities are based on sound and relevant scientific evidence.
The TCORS program brings together investigators from across the country to aid in the development and evaluation of tobacco product regulations. Each TCORS application identified a targeted research goal. Taken together, the TCORS sites will increase knowledge across the full spectrum of basic and applied research on tobacco and addiction.
The program also provides young investigators with training opportunities to ensure the development of the next generation of tobacco regulatory scientists.
“While we’ve made tremendous strides in reducing the use of tobacco products in the U.S., smoking still accounts for one in five deaths each year, which is far too many,” said NIH director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD. “FDA/NIH partnerships like the Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science keep us focused on reducing the burden and devastation of preventable disease caused by tobacco use.”
