FDA Tobacco Regulator Warns, Encourages Industry

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) won't be shy about penalizing tobacco companies for violating new federal regulations on the industry, but the head of FDA's Center for Tobacco Products also said that the agency would be open to new ideas from tobacco firms.

The Wall Street Journal reported May 24 that Center for Tobacco Products director Lawrence Deyton addressed the Tobacco Merchants Association and pledged to reduce the number of children who start smoking. He also expressed concern that some dissolvable tobacco products too closely resemble candy.

The tobacco industry would like to market such products as less harmful than cigarettes, and Deyton said he would listen to such proposals. “There's no monopoly on great ideas, so we at FDA will keep an ear open for great ideas as we move ahead,” he said.