Sub-Group
PUB - Product Use Behaviour (formerly Smoking Behaviour) - 1996
Objectives
- To critique and review published papers on all aspects of tobacco and related products' use behaviour, and publish the critical reviews in peer-reviewed journals.
- To examine unpublished reports and work on the subject within Member Organisations, with a view to recommending publication in peer-reviewed journals.
- To identify gaps in total information and suggest suitable work to provide the necessary information.
The focus of this Sub-Group recently has been to evaluate ‘Human Studies’[1] methodologies[2] used to generate data for regulatory submission, to identify gaps and suggest suitable work to provide the necessary information to fill them.
The objectives of the Sub-Group are shown above, and are in line with the Sub-Group vision.
As of June 2023, the Sub-Group has a healthy membership of 51 representatives from 33 different institutions/companies spread across 13 different countries.
The Sub-Group used to meet in person typically twice a year. The Sub-Group holds joint meetings with the Biomarker (BMK) Sub-Group and there is a significant overlap in the membership of the two Sub-Groups. Since the advent of COVID much of the group's work has been conducted virtually. Most New Work Item Proposal (NWIP) activities are carried out virtually by a nominated group of core members organised by the project lead through regular meetings online as required.
The PUB 2023 Spring meeting was held in Antibes-Juan-les-Pins, France to discuss the NWIPs and propose new work in line with our 5-year plan agreed with the CORESTA Board. The meeting was attended by 24 members in person and five joined online.
Since the last meeting two NWIPs have been completed and closed see table below:
|
Project No. |
Activity |
Leader |
|
PUB-169 |
Review Scientific Evidence on VLNC - Project closure document sent to the SC for review and approval. |
Neil Sherwood |
|
PUB-273 |
Use Behaviour and Exposure terminology across product categories - Final document available on the CORESTA website |
Lesley Giles |
The Sub-Group has been asked to keep a watching brief on the activities in very low nicotine content (VLNC), with regular updates on the topic provided to the CORESTA Scientific Commission.
The ongoing activities of the Sub-Group are summarised in the table below:
|
Project No. |
Activity |
Leader |
|
PUB-273 |
Use Behaviour and Exposure Terminology Across Product Categories - Based on the Technical Report, preparation of a manuscript for publication in Contributions to Tobacco and Nicotine Research |
Lesley Giles |
|
PUB-278 |
Recommended Methods for Managing Data Generated by Connected Devices |
Raymond Lau |
|
PUB-351 |
Methodological Considerations and Best Practices for ‘Actual Use’ Study Designs |
Joshua Karelitz |
|
PUB-366 |
Nicotine Flux - A Metric of Abuse Liability that can be Deployed Across a Diverse Range of Tobacco and Nicotine Products |
Karin Jacobson |
In addition to the above ongoing NWIPs, the Sub-Group members are kept updated on the progress on CROM consortium activities. The summary of HTP puffing behaviour publications were shared with the HTP Task Force starting a new collaborative effort to agree on an intensive machine puffing regime.
The PUB Sub-Group is actively exploring the need to set up a Task Force on Population Modelling and a NWIP on methodology to measure mouth level exposure to nicotine and other components in Oral Nicotine Product users.
The Fall 2023 PUB Sub-Group meeting is planned for Saturday 7 October, 2023 between 14:00-18:00, prior to the SSPT2023 Conference being held in Cancun, Mexico.
[1] Human Studies methodologies include those that use instrumentation (e.g. topography device) and questionnaires, pre- and post-market, to collect ‘use behaviour’ data
[2] Methodologies include output from CROM, both published and unpublished with a view to critique and encourage publication of best practice where possible
Updated November 2023