FDA nominee uncommitted on flavors

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refused at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday to commit to banning flavored cigars and electronic cigarettes, according to a story in The Hill.

Scott Gottlieb said he could see where flavored products might be inappropriate in one context and appropriate in another.

He indicated that he thought that FDA experts should be making those determinations.

In answer to a question from the Democratic Senator Patty Murray about the flavors gummy bears and cookies and cream, Gottlieb said he recognized there needed to be a line there somewhere, but that he didn’t know where that line was to be drawn.

“I think that line needs to get drawn by people who are experts in evaluating that science, and I want to support that,” he said.

Gottlieb said Murray was raising some imperative questions about when a reduced-harm product such as an electronic cigarette could be useful in transitioning people away from combustible cigarettes and when they might be a gateway to adolescent smoking.

“I think a properly constructed and overseen regulatory process should have the capacity under the authorities Congress gave the agency to make these determinations,” he said.