Introduction
The public health concept undergoes numerous discussions and considerable changes around the whole globe. Many public organizations make attempts to improve the health conditions of the population and promote the well-being of people through preventing diseases and prolonging lives (Andrade et al., 2017). Many federal public health agencies work in the chosen field. In this paper, special attention will be paid to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and one of its services, tobacco products regulation.
The FDA has a number of responsibilities to regulate, manufacture, and distribute tobacco products and ensure the safety of health among people. This agency develops specific regulations and demands, and other stakeholders should follow them. Promotion of tobacco products regulations is one of the main goals of the FDA that cannot be ignored as it underlines the worth of the chosen organization, its growth and development, appropriateness to essential public health services, and collaboration with other global agencies.
Food and Drug Administration: Selected Federal Public Health Agency
Overview
The FDA is a well-known American organization that has an impact on the quality of human life through the promotion of information and clear standards on how to define the safety of food, drugs, tobacco products, and other important health issues. The FDA shows that well-being is not only the control of food, drugs, and medical devices. To be healthy, people have to understand the importance of the use of radiation-emitting products, the participation in vaccination and blood control, the discussion of veterinary affairs, and the evaluation of cosmetics and tobacco products (U.S. Food & Drug Administration, 2018).
Each year, this agency spends billions of dollars to introduce new regulatory programs in the food, drug, cosmetics, and tobacco industries. People should be educated about the possible risks of medications and devices, and the FDA has to develop the necessary system in terms of which it is possible to gather enough information.
Mission and Goals
The FDA was organized more than a century ago with the goal to protect and promote public health through food safety control. With time, its goals were changed; still, its mission remains the same –public health support. Regarding this broad mission, the FDA finds it reasonable to create several goals to explain its steps in different fields. The protection of public health is possible by ensuring the safety of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, and radiation-free cosmetics (U.S. Food & Drug Administration, 2018). The FDA is responsible for the regulation of tobacco products and their reduction.
Innovation is a strong contribution to public health improvement because people can get a chance to use safer and more effective services and products (U.S. Food & Drug Administration, 2018). The environment is not always safe for people, and the task of the FDA is to decrease the number of risks.
Tobacco Products Regulation
Overview
Among the existing variety of services developed by the FDA, the discussion of tobacco product regulations plays a crucial role because of two important reasons. First, fortunately, not all people are involved in the use of tobacco products; however unfortunately, they fail to understand how influential their role in tobacco control can be. Not all people believe that they can do something to decrease the risks of tobacco products for people, and the FDA has to work hard to dwell upon this issue from various perspectives. Another aspect of this problem is connected with the fact that the use of tobacco products usually depends on personal desire.
The FDA cannot control the situations under which tobacco is used by people. The only thing that is left is to make sure that tobacco products are not as harmful and dangerous to people as they can actually be, and people know how to behave regarding others’ decisions to use tobacco products.
Details
The representatives of the FDA define tobacco products as one of the largest still preventable causes of death and diseases in the United States of America. Therefore, they find it necessary to fight against this problem using any available methods and means. In 2009, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was signed by President Obama to define the responsibilities of the FDA in its intentions to control the progress of the tobacco industry.
As was expected, the FDA began the development of new regulations and amendments to explain new requirements to the population. The final rule was issued in 2016 in terms of which all tobacco products were identified and categories regarding their effects on human health (Food and Drug Administration, 2016). The results of these regulations can be observed in many marketing campaigns, including color warning texts on all cigarette packages.
Steps and Protocols
The FDA takes responsibility for the development of safe and effective standards with the help of which it is possible to evaluate tobacco products, their risks, benefits, and possible distribution among the population, both users and non-users. According to the Tobacco Control Act, the US population should be careful with tobacco products in terms of their sales to minors, the support of vending machines, the sale of packages with fewer than 20 cigarettes, tobacco-based sponsorship, social and cultural events, and free giveaways (Food and Drug Administration, 2016). These activities are banned in the United States. The FDA also underlines the necessity to use special warning labels where it is stated that smoking is harmful to human health, starting from tooth loss or addiction and ending with death because of lung cancer.
Core Functions, FDA Services, and Public Health Services
The Institute of Medicine suggests all public health agencies keeping a balance between their core health functions and services. Assessment is one of the main functions of public health organizations. This activity helps to identify problems and recognize the ways on how to prevent complications. Policy development is another step that the FDA, as well as other agencies, should follow to understand what kind of work can be done.
Finally, assurance and promotion of healthy behaviors is a requirement that cannot be ignored. In fact, it can be said that the chosen program of the FDA to promote tobacco products’ control is based on each of the 10 essential public health services (Andrade et al., 2017). Still, such aspects information and education of people about health issues and enforcement of laws and regulations are the most appropriate.
Collaboration with Organizations
The goals of the FDA concerning tobacco control are also supported by such organizations as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine, and even the US Department of Defense. This collaboration is a chance to change human lives at different levels. People should know what is dangerous to them, and the exchange of information at the national level is a good step forward.
Conclusion
In general, the work of the FDA is a significant contribution to the promotion of public health and the distribution of safe services. Tobacco product regulation is a serious step taken by the FDA to protect people’s health and describe the conditions under which people can understand what they do right and wrong. Tobacco products, as well as the ways of their usage, vary. The task of the FDA is to make sure people follow special standards and respect their health needs. Public health is a broad topic, and the steps show how it can be solved today.
References
Andrade, R., Healy, E., Muramoto, M., Govindarajan, L., Cunningham, J., & Taren, D. (2017). The development and evolution of public health essentials in action: A training course on the 3 core functions and 10 essential public health services. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 3(1), 59-63.
Food and Drug Administration. (2016). Deeming tobacco products to be subject to the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act, as amended by the family smoking prevention and tobacco control act: Restrictions on the sale and distribution of tobacco products and required warning statements for tobacco products. Final rule. Federal Register, 81(90), 28973-29106.
U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (2018). What we do. Web.