Writing for the Tax Foundation, Adam Hoffer published “Opportunities to Reform the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products,” where he discussed the lingering challenges plaguing the CTP and suggested a pathway forward.
“The CTP has come under heavy criticism in recent years, which we have covered extensively due to the surge in illicit market activity and the resulting challenges of implementing tax policy on alternative tobacco products (ATPs),” Hoffer wrote. “In 2022, the FDA requested the Reagan Udall Foundation conduct an independent investigation of the CTP. The resulting report highlighted several shortcomings, including a lack of a clear regulatory and product approval framework, an inefficient and slow product review process, a lack of transparency and communication, and broad struggles with the vaping market. We have identified four broad categories for CTP reform with direct policy actions to achieve each goal.”
The suggestions were:
1. Enhance Transparency and Accountability
- CTP Should Publish a Rubric that Includes Requirements for Product Approval
2. Streamline the Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) Process
- CTP Should Create a Fast-Track PMTA Approval Pathway for Reduced-Risk Products
- Default Marketing Authorization Approval Should Occur After 180 Days
3. Fix the US Vaping Market
- CTP Should Authorize More Legal Vaping Products
- CTP Should Strengthen Enforcement Against Illegal Products
4. Address Blind Spots – The Teen Vaping Crisis That Isn’t
Dr. Adam Hoffer is the director of excise tax policy at the Tax Foundation. He earned his doctorate in economics from West Virginia University and his undergraduate degree from Washington & Jefferson College.
