About this Publication on Tobacco Additives

1. Source for this Publication
   
2. The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR)
   
3. Background to the SCENIHR opinion on Tobacco Additives
   
4. Specific questions put to the SCENIHR by the European Commission
   

1. Source for this Publication

The texts in level 3 are directly sourced from
“Addictiveness and Attractiveness of Tobacco Additives”, a report produced in 2010 by the SCENIHR (Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks) of the European Commission.

Levels 1 and 2 were written by Dr Jon Turney

2. The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR)

The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) is one of three independent non-food scientific committees which give scientific advice on consumer safety, public health and the environment. It was set up by the European Commission to consider in particular emerging issues arising from new technologies. The Committee provides opinions on emerging or newly identified health and environmental risks and on broad, complex or multidisciplinary issues requiring a comprehensive assessment of risks to consumer safety or public health and related issues not covered by other Community risk assessment bodies.

For further information on the SCENIHR see: http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/emerging/index_en.htm 

3. Background to the SCENIHR opinion on Tobacco Additives

The Tobacco Products Directive (2001/37/EC) permits introduction of rules prohibiting ingredients which increase addictiveness of tobacco products. Additives are widely used in tobacco products, and the European Parliament has invited the Commission to propose ways of evaluating and authorising such additives, and banning any which enhance addictiveness.

The Directorate General for Health and Consumers (DG SANCO) wants to know more about criteria for classifying an additive as addictive or attractive, the role of additives and design features in tobacco products, and how these affect whether people become dependent on tobacco.

4. Specific questions put to the SCENIHR by the European Commission

In its report, the Scientific Committee was asked to answer the following:

1. Which are the criteria which will define whether an additive or a combination of additives increases the addictive potency of the final tobacco product?

2. What are the methods currently used for assessing the addictive potency of a substance and are they considered adequate?

3. Is the development of nicotine addictiveness dose-dependent?

4. Which additives are addictive themselves in tobacco products?

5. Which additives enhance the addictiveness of nicotine and how?

6. Which are the methods used to quantify the potency of additives in enhancing the addictiveness of nicotine and are they considered adequate?

7. Which technical characteristics enhance the addictive potential of tobacco products?

8. Which are the criteria based on which an additive or a combination of additives can be considered (classified) attractive?

9. What are the methods currently used for assessing attractiveness and are they considered adequate?

10. Which additives increase attractiveness of tobacco products?

11. What is the association between additives and tobacco consumption (independent of any addictive potential they might have)? Which additives are used to target specific groups?