Yale TCORS

The Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS 1.0) was formed at Yale in 2013 under a five-year federal grant to research the influence of flavors, including menthol, on tobacco addiction. The work at Yale and 13 other federally funded research centers has provided science-based knowledge to the U.S. FDA, which regulates tobacco.

In September of 2018, the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), renewed a grant for the Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS 2.0) to continue to investigate the influence of flavors and sweeteners, and other constituents, on the appeal and addictive potential of traditional tobacco products and newer products like e-cigarettes.

The center grant was again renewed in September of 2023 for another 5 years by NIH and the FDA. With the overarching goal of reducing appeal and addiction to tobacco products, the Yale TCORS 3.0 will continue to examine the influence of flavors and other chemical additives on the appeal, use and addictive potential of tobacco products, including newer products like e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches.

Cohesive and hypothesis driven, our research incorporates multiple methods and disciplines. The multidisciplinary research team includes experts in nicotinic receptor biology and pharmacology, flavor and irritant receptor biology and pharmacology, analytical chemistry, sensory perception, tobacco/nicotine use behaviors and addiction, adolescent tobacco use, qualitative and clinical trial methodology, and measurement and statistical analysis.

In addition, the center trains scientists, and provides pilot funding to stimulate research related to tobacco regulatory science.