Dr. Clanton raised the possibility of the TPSAC issuing an interim report, given the large task before the committee. Dr. Samet thinks that such a suggestion may be in order given the paucity of menthol-specific studies compared to those concerning direct smoking.
Dr. Clanton also raised the question of whether the strength of evidence used in clinical studies should not be used and instead a lower standard of evidence, i.e., “an association”– meaning a weak, statistically insignificant relationship between cause and purported effect.