The University of Southern California’s Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (USC TCORS) for Vulnerable Populations is one of nine Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science in the U.S. We were created to serve in the production of relevant scientific data to inform the regulatory decision making at the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products. Additionally, we are here to educate and train the next generation of tobacco regulatory scientists.

Through our theme, the Intersections of Products with Diverse Populations, we are conducting research on the use and health effects of specific e-cigarette products across populations. We are studying e-cigarette product characteristics and marketing approaches hypothesized to increase tobacco product attraction, use, and addiction in youth and young adult non-smokers and have little impact on tobacco product use in older smokers.

Product standards and marketing requirements limiting non-combustible products to protect young people, while minimizing collateral effects on switching in adult smokers, would satisfy FDA’s mission to protect the overall population. We are providing evidence to forecast whether such requirements have equitable impact across vulnerable groups defined by ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and sex that are affected by widening tobacco disparities.

Directors

Primary Research Projects

Project 4

Cores