Tobacco product regulation: Basic handbook
WHO has launched an online course on tobacco product regulation in response to the need for clear, practical guidance on tobacco product regulation. The course is based on Tobacco Product Regulation: Basic Handbook, a basic reference document for non-scientist regulators in any country and tool for health authorities and other interested parties seeking resources and planning on how to monitor, evaluate, and regulate tobacco products. Further, the handbook includes relevant country case studies detailing specific approaches enacted globally.
Although tobacco product use is a major public health problem, tobacco products are one of the few openly available consumer products that are virtually unregulated in terms of contents, emissions and design features. Countries hesitate to implement regulations in this area, partly due to the associated challenges, the highly technical nature of this policy intervention and the difficulties in translating science into regulation. The handbook provides authoritative guidance on tobacco product regulation, especially in line with the requirements of Articles 9 and 10 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), in response to countries’ requests. Failure to regulate tobacco products represents a missed opportunity as tobacco product regulation, in the context of comprehensive control, is a valuable tool that could complement other tried and tested tobacco control interventions, such as raising taxes, smoke-free environments, etc.
This course is also available in the following languages:
Français – Русский
Course contents
Part I: Overview of tobacco product regulation:
Part I of III of the Tobacco Product Regulation Handbook online training module is comprised of two sections: (1) Introduction to the basics of tobacco product regulation and (2) International guidance on tobacco product regulation.
Part II: Regulatory needs, capacity and considerations:
Part II of III of the Tobacco Product Regulation Handbook online training module is comprised of two sections: (3) First steps: assessing regulatory needs and capacity and (4) Regulatory considerations in advance implementation.
Part III: Implementation, testing and other related challenges:
Part III of III of the Tobacco Product Regulation Handbook online training module is comprised of three sections: (5) Implementation and potential challenges; (6) Novel, new and modified tobacco or related products; and (7) Testing and disclosure.
Course credits:
List of technical contributions to course development.