Tobacco product regulation: Building laboratory testing capacity
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WHO has launched an online course on tobacco product regulation in response to the need for clear, practical advice on building laboratory testing capacity. This course is based on the Tobacco Product Regulation: Building Laboratory Testing Capacity handbook, launched during the 2018 World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Cape Town.
The online course is a useful resource for countries, and provides regulators and policymakers with comprehensible information on how to test tobacco products, what products to test, and how to use testing data in a meaningful way to support regulation. Further, it provides a step-by-step guide to developing a testing laboratory, using an existing internal laboratory, contracting an external laboratory, and making use of the available support mechanisms both within WHO and externally.
Tobacco use is a global health burden. However, despite the devastating effects of tobacco use, only a handful of countries currently regulate tobacco products, including on how the product is made, the contents of the product and emissions from tobacco products during use, to which users and bystanders can be exposed.This is partly due to the challenges associated with the regulation of tobacco products, the highly technical nature of this policy intervention and the difficulties in translating science into regulation. Failure to regulate 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 – Russian
Course contents
Section 1: Testing in the context of the country’s regulatory authority:
By the end of this section, participants should be able to: articulate principles for identifying tobacco products to test, testing analyses, communicating data to regulators and covering costs.
Section 2: Three possible routes to a testing laboratory:
By the end of this section, participants should be able to: describe the basic concepts for contracting with an external laboratory, using an exiting internal laboratory and developing an internal laboratory.
Section 3: Contracting with an external laboratory:
By the end of this section, participants should be able to: describe essential criteria for contracting with an external testing laboratory.
Section 4: Using an existing internal testing laboratory:
By the end of this section, participants should be able to: define essential criteria for using an existing internal testing laboratory.
Section 5: Developing a tobacco-exclusive testing laboratory:
By the end of this section, participants should be able to: articulate necessary measures for developing a tobacco-exclusive testing laboratory.
Section 6: Resources: WHO TobLabNet Membership:
By the end of this module, participants should be able to: understand criteria, advantages and procedures for WHO TobLabNet membership.
Course credits:
List of technical contributions to course development.
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