On April 8, 2022, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—the parent agency of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates tobacco products—issued a Request for Information (RFI) on its Draft Outline to further develop the agency’s 2022 Environmental Justice Strategy and Implementation Plan (EJ Plan). The EJ Plan will serve as a guide to confront environmental and health disparities and implement a strategy to serve vulnerable populations and communities disproportionately impacted by environmental burdens.

The EJ Plan outline contains six Strategic Elements that build on an earlier 2012 Environmental Justice Strategy document by adding additional Partnerships and Community Engagement and Performance Measure elements. Within the six Strategic Elements, the agency also identifies several Priority Actions that it aims to take. In addition to seeking input on those specific Strategic Elements and Priority Actions,  the agency seeks input on the following questions:

• “What research methods, research questions, and data tools should HHS use to address environmental justice and social determinants of health?”
• “What other strategies can be included within the 2022 HHS Environmental Justice Strategy and Implementation Plan to address environmental justice and health equity issues for disadvantaged populations?”

The agency is taking comment on these questions (any other areas of interest related to the EJ Plan) until May 19, 2022. Any comments should be submitted via email to OASHcomments@hhs.gov either as a Word document or in the body of an email.