Government

FDA launches new tobacco center, names director

The office will implement new tobacco regulations in landmark legislation enacted earlier this year.

By Chris Silva — Posted Sept. 3, 2009

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The Food and Drug Administration announced on Aug. 19 the launch of its new Center for Tobacco Products, which will oversee implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act signed into law by President Obama in June.

FDA's responsibilities under the law include setting performance standards for cigarette manufacturers, reviewing premarket applications for new and modified-risk tobacco products, and establishing and enforcing advertising and promotion restrictions.

Lawrence Deyton, MD, MSPH, a clinical professor of medicine and health policy at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., will serve as the center's first director. Dr. Deyton is considered an expert on veterans' health issues, public health and tobacco use.

"We are thrilled to announce Dr. Deyton's appointment as director of the Center for Tobacco Products and look forward to him joining the agency," FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, said in a statement. "He is the rare combination of public health expert, administrative leader, scientist and clinician."

Before joining FDA, Dr. Deyton was chief public health and environmental hazards officer for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs. His responsibilities there involved oversight of numerous public health initiatives, including programs on tobacco use, emergency preparation and response, health of women veterans and the long-term health consequences of military service.

The Center for Tobacco Products, located on the FDA's White Oak campus in Silver Spring, Md., will guide the development and implementation of public health strategies to reduce the burden of illness and death caused by tobacco products. The FDA will use $5 million from its fiscal 2009 budget to establish the necessary administrative functions for the center. Other funding will come from user fees paid by manufacturers and importers of tobacco products.

"I am eager for the challenge of leading the tobacco team at FDA," Dr. Deyton said in a statement. "This is a tremendous opportunity for us at FDA to work hand in hand with the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], researchers at the [National Institutes of Health] and public health leaders in the states to make progress in combating tobacco use -- the leading cause of preventable death in the United States."

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