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STAT+: What FDA cuts could mean for the future of tobacco
FDA and CDC cuts will only exacerbate problems with tobacco regulation and enforcement, say public health experts
The tobacco center at the Food and Drug Administration has drawn criticism from all sides in recent years. Tobacco opponents said it wasn’t doing enough to crack down on sales of illegal e-cigarettes and stop young people from vaping. Harm-reduction groups saw top tobacco regulator Brian King as a stubborn foe of products that could help people quit smoking. And the vaping industry itself complained the FDA had rejected 99% of the more than 27 million applications it had received without providing detailed product standards.
Now King is out at the Center for Tobacco Products, along with Matthew Farrelly, director of the tobacco center’s science division, who said on LinkedIn that he would be moving to a role in a different area of Health and Human Services. The tobacco center’s entire management and regulation divisions were cut, as were the majority of staff at the Office of Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The cuts will only exacerbate problems with tobacco regulation and enforcement in the U.S., hampering the fight against chronic disease, policymakers and public health experts said.
