Center for Rapid Surveillance of Tobacco (CRST) will perform surveillance of tobacco product marketing, the tobacco product marketplace, and tobacco use behaviors, transforming tobacco surveillance to be rapid, comprehensive, and coordinated, with salient findings fed immediately into traditional data collection systems. By identifying and evaluating signals in a timely fashion, the CRST will generate critical actionable information about changes in tobacco products which can inform FDA’s regulation of tobacco products leading to a substantial public health impact.

Tobacco Industry Monitoring (TIM) Alert

Tobacco Industry Marketing (TIM) Alerts provide weekly newsletters to subscribers to keep up to date with tobacco industry marketing and emerging tobacco products.

Excerpt from the Jul 2, 2026 TIM Alert

CIGARETTES

A colleague from Penn State University alerted us to new special edition Camel cigarette “Hump Day” packs, which have a corresponding promotion where people are directed to the Camel website to play games and have the opportunity to win prizes.

 

MODERN ORAL NICOTINE PRODUCTS

On June 30, FDA issued modified risk granted orders for 20 ZYN nicotine pouches (ten flavors, each in 3mg and 6mg nicotine strengths). These products may now be marketed with the following risk modification claim: “Using ZYN instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.” ZYN is the first nicotine pouch to have received a modified risk granted order.