User:As in liberty/Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee

The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) is an advisory panel of the United States Food and Drug Administration organized to provide advice, information and recommendations to the FDA commissioner on matters related to the regulation of tobacco products. It was created in accordance to the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama on June 22, 2009.

Structure and mission
TPSAC consists of 12 members, including a chairperson, all of whom are selected by the FDA commissioner from among experts in medicine, medical ethics, science and technology related to the manufacture and use of tobacco products. Nine voting seats are held for academics and practitioners in the field of health care, while three non-voting seats are held for industry representatives. Members serve for overlapping terms of four years. TPSAC meetings are held approximately four times per year, with all meetings publicly announced in the Federal Register at least 15 days before each meeting. TPSAC meetings are convened to discuss the effects of changing nicotine levels in tobacco products, the impact of menthol in cigarettes on the public health, and advising on "modified risk" (i.e. "light") tobacco products.

Voting members

 * Jonathan M. Samet, M.D., M.S., chair
 * Neal L. Benowitz, M.D.
 * Mark Stuart Clanton, M.D., M.P.H.
 * Gregory Niles Connolly, D.M.D., M.P.H.
 * Karen L. DeLeeuw, M.S.W.
 * Patricia Nez Henderson, M.P.H., M.D.
 * Jack E. Henningfield, Ph.D.
 * Melanie Wakefield, Ph.D.

Non-voting members

 * Luby Arnold Hamm, Jr.
 * Jonathan Daniel Heck, Ph.D., DABT
 * John H. Lauterbach, Ph.D., DABT

Controversy
On March 1, 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported that proposed committee members Jack Henningfield and Neal L. Benowitz, had served as consultants to GlaxoSmithKline, and Benowitz to Pfizer as well, both pharmaceutical firms that market smoking cessation drugs. Their selection by the FDA has drawn criticism as "lax on conflict of interest" by the Boston Globe. Meanwhile, advocacy group Americans for Limited Government has raised concerns about funding received by TPSAC chair Jonathan Samet from GlaxoSmithKline and other pharmaceutical companies.