Tobacco Online Policy Seminar 2022
Abstract
The Tobacco Online Policy Seminar (TOPS) series has established itself as a leading venue for disseminating
policy-relevant tobacco research, attracting an audience of 120 attendees on average. The goal of TOPS is to
provide a free multidisciplinary, international forum for research using experimental or quasi-experimental
variation (i.e., a well-defined counterfactual for the treatment group) to study nicotine-tobacco policies, with a
particular interest in emerging tobacco products and modified risk tobacco products. This forum is designed to
bring together academics, government scientists, students/trainees, funders, healthcare professionals, and
advocates, with the goal of breaking silos in tobacco policy research and providing a platform for high-quality
research to be discussed and disseminated. The ultimate goal of the forum is to facilitate the production and
sharing of knowledge that can be used to develop an effective tobacco policy framework. TOPS strives to be a
respectful, inclusive, and diverse forum, with participants and attendees united around the concept of
presenting and learning from tobacco research using study designs that can provide evidence of causal effects
rather than correlations or trend analyses. TOPS was conceptualized and is managed by an Executive Board
of four tobacco control researchers: Johanna Catherine Maclean, Michael Pesko, Ce Shang, and Justin White.
TOPS is supported by an advisory board of 35 experts in tobacco control research. Since September 2020,
TOPS has had a research seminar every two weeks and has averaged 117 people per seminar. The aims of
this conference grant are to: 1) continue TOPS and ensure that the series is maximally informative to the FDA
and other researchers in the field; 2) provide new opportunities for TOPS attendees, particularly trainees and
FDA-funded researchers, to meet with seminar presenters to discuss research and professional development;
and 3) create a consultant service for tobacco regulatory scientists interested in using experimental or quasi-
experimental method designs in their own research. To meet these aims, the TOPS Executive Board will meet
regularly throughout the year to continue planning and hosting TOPS seminars. The Executive Board will
recruit people to submit papers on specific topics (e.g., tobacco product flavors, nicotine reduction) that
highlight the Tobacco Regulatory Science Program’s research priorities. The conference grant will also support
the effort of a part-time administrator to oversee day-to-day activities of TOPS, including scheduling meetings
between seminar presenters and attendees and serving as a point person for a new consultant service for
tobacco regulatory scientists interested in using experimental or quasi-experimental method designs in their
own research.