STATEMENT REGARDING LAUNCH OF MEHARRY CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

We’re pleased to support Meharry Medical College’s launch of the Meharry Center for the Study of Social Determinants of Health. Dedicated to examining social factors that influence public health and well being, the Center’s first initiative will be research and community outreach programs related to the emerging prevalence of e-cigarettes, as well as tobacco and other nicotine-delivery products, particularly in minority communities. Meharry Medical College is the nation’s largest private, independent historically black academic health sciences center. You can read more about this initiative here.

As we’ve long said, there are many questions about the health impact of vapor products, and JUUL products in particular, that only a robust body of public health research can start to answer. We are committed to contributing to and supporting independent and peer-reviewed scientific research programs that assess the harm-reduction potential of JUUL products, including their impact on the individual user, their ability to switch adult smokers from combustible cigarettes, and the net-population impact on public health.