COMPASS| The Need for Communication Research in Regulatory Science: Electronic Cigarettes as a Case Study
Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: Regulatory science is the practice of using the scientific method to gather information and develop new tools to inform the decision-making process of federal regulators.In 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health, proposed new initiatives to promote enhanced regulatory science efforts.The focus of these efforts was the advancement of biomedical research to improve patient safety and treatments.Communication scholars have weighed in on efforts related to communications policy through the subfields of political, health, and media communication.Likewise, a role for communication science certainly exists in regulatory science work.This commentary identifies several areas where communication scholars can leverage their expertise in regard to regulatory science research.Although this commentary uses tobacco regulatory science and electronic cigarettes (one segment of a large trend of emerging tobacco products) as an illustration, the purpose of the commentary is to encourage communication researchers to consider their role in regulatory science more broadly. Communication in Tobacco Control Versus Tobacco Regulatory ScienceTo better understand regulatory science, its distinctions from policy should be acknowledged.Tobacco is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States and elsewhere.To minimize these mortality rates, tobacco control efforts include both government policies and nongovernmental programs that address tobacco use and attempt to reduce its burden on public health.For example, the World Health Organization proposed MPOWER (Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies; Protect people from tobacco smoke; Offer help to quit smoking; Warn people against the dangers of tobacco; Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship; Raise taxes on tobacco) as a tobacco control strategy.In the United States, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2010 provides regulatory authority to the FDA to monitor the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing surrounding traditional tobacco products (i.e., cigarettes and smokeless tobacco).In line with the Tobacco Control Act, both the FDA and the National Institutes of Health have incorporated regulatory science to inform decision making related to domestic tobacco control.This can range from research investigating addiction and adverse effects to tobacco products to the economics underlying the tobacco marketplace.Several aspects of tobacco control related to communication remain underexamined.For example, understanding how tobacco product packaging can communicate harm or how to reduce the influence of tobacco marketing are regulatory science questions that can be readily addressed by communication research and scholars.
Author: Angeline Sangalang
Institution: University of Southern California
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W1921164782