Deyton, who has held the job for about nine months, said his [image-nocss] job is to address the "enormous toll of confusion, suffering and death caused by the current state of tobacco use in this country. And frankly, we have a long way to go."
He said his top priorities include stopping kids from picking up the habit, educating the public and applying standards based on science.
While Deyton said that he encouraged an open dialogue with the industry, he acknowledged that some believe regulation to be a threat to the tobacco business and will "try and block [the] FDA at every turn in implementing this law."
For those who ignore the law, Deyton said, the FDA has multiple options to enforce compliance and the agency will "not hesitate to take these steps when warranted."
The FDA's authority granted last June is the main area of discussion at the two-day gathering of tobacco manufacturers, growers and retailers. The agency is tasked with creating industry standards and addressing issues like menthol cigarettes, as well as dissolvable tobacco and other products that companies claim are less harmful than cigarettes.
Industry representatives acknowledged the daunting task of the FDA's regulation of the industry and urged transparency, as well as clear and concise guidelines, AP said. They also stressed the importance of basing the rules on science.
"Without science, this is going to be more of a political animal," said George Cassels-Smith, the CEO of Tobacco Technology Inc., which designs flavors for the industry. "As adult consumers, shouldn't you have the right to have choice in the tobacco product that you want, especially if you're aware of all the health concerns? It would be a horrible situation to essentially level the playing [field] by making everything taste essentially the same."
Under law, the FDA can ban certain products such as flavored cigarettes, limit nicotine and block labels such as "low tar" and "light" meant to convey that certain products are less harmful. The law does not let the FDA ban nicotine or tobacco outright.
For more on the state of tobacco regulation and retailing, watch for coverage of the "Tobacco Update" CSPNetwork Cyberconference featuring UBS tobacco analyst Nik Modi and Swedish Match director of category management Joe Teller. Or to view an OnDemand replay of the CyberConference, pleaseclick here (free to retailers and wholesalers; others, $49).
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