**SESSION ABSTRACT** Building the evidence base for tobacco control policy interventions in the era of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and beyond: The International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

James Thrasher, PhD, MS, Institute for Health Research & Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1741 West Roosevelt Road, Suite 558, Chicago, IL 60608, 919-338-1438, thrasher@uic.edu and Bob Vollinger, MSPH, Tobacco Control Research Branch, National Cancer Institute, 6130 Executive Boulevard, MSC 7337, Executive Plaza North, Room 4030, Bethesda, MD 20892-7337.

The World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is a multilateral treaty that promotes a coordinated, international policy response to the global epidemic of tobacco use. The policies that the FCTC promotes appear to be effective in high-income countries; however, it is unknown how these policies will translate to low- and middle-income countries. The International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (ITC) is an international, collaborative effort to assess the psychosocial and behavioral impact of the FCTC's demand-reducing policies among adult smokers in different countries. Currently the ITC project is active in nine countries with plans for expansion to additional countries. This session will begin by describing the ITC study design (e.g., cohorts with multiple country controls) and the theory-driven conceptual framework used to test hypotheses about the anticipated effects of given policies. Thereafter, four papers will present evidence on cross-national differences the psychosocial and behavioral impact of tax/price regulations, tobacco industry promotions, smoke-free policies, cigarette warning labels, and banning light/mild brand descriptors, as well as differences in cigarette constituents and design. These studies lay the foundation for monitoring and evaluating the FCTC, helping clarify the pathways through which different policies exert their effect. In so doing, the ITC project contributes to the global evidence base for developing more effective tobacco policies in the FCTC era and beyond. Rigorous evaluation and monitoring of FCTC policies may provide lessons about the use of international treaty mechanisms for combating other threats to global public health, as well.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to