^®: CRE Regulatory Action of the Week

Smokeless Tobacco, The Data Quality Act and NGO's
In response to a Data Quality Act petition, the US Government no longer states that the health risk associated with smokeless tobacco is as great as direct smoking.

However, NGO's , who are not subject to the Data Quality Act, continue to make statements no longer supported by the Federal Government. This behavior on the part of NGO's is not unique to the smokeless tobacco debate.

To the contrary, CRE has called this generic matter to the attention of universities who often conduct research for federal agencies. Press reports indicate that universities were not supportive of the proposal.

Can additional action be taken to bring NGO's in compliance with the Data Quality Act?

We say NGO's because the issue is well beyond universities; the article below raises concerns about statements made by the American Cancer Society.

The American Cancer Society, as well as several other NGO's, should be contacted to request that they voluntarily comply with the DQA. If they do not, their subsequent publications should be subjected to a DQA analysis and publicized on a leading watchdog website, such as Watch Dog Watch.

Articles on the Watch Dog Watch, are routinely submitted to federal agencies and this practice would be continued with an emphasis on distribution to the institutes of NIH. In addition, actions could be taken to monitor all submissions made by the ACS, and other NGO's chosen for oversight. Routine submissions could be made to the relevant agencies informing them that they can not use the identified portions, if any, of the NGO submission that fails to comply with the DQA.