The Senate confirmed Marty Makary to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The March 25 vote was 56-44. Three Democrats, including Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) and Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) joined Republicans to confirm Makary’s vote.
Photograph courtesy of FDA
Makary, a former Johns Hopkins University surgeon and author, will take over as commissioner of food and drugs at the FDA and will oversee several centers, including the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). He will report to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, (R-Louisiana), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which previously approved his nomination by a vote of 14 to 9, said, “Dr. Makary’s medical background and strong vision make him more than qualified to lead the FDA.”
It’s not clear how Makary will approach CTP’s looming issues of reviewing premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs), the illicit vape market and other tobacco-related issues.
National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) Executive Director David Spross told CSP on Friday that “NATO looks forward to working with Dr. Makary and the team at FDA on tobacco and nicotine product regulatory issues, including for the FDA is to support tobacco harm reduction policies by authorizing more PMTA vapor and nicotine pouch product applications that provide adult smokers with more choices.”
Spross added that there is a “need for more transparency from the agency by providing retailers more information on illicit products specifically in the vapor and nicotine pouch categories.”
The Food and Drug Administration has authorized 34 e-cigarette products and devices to date, and that number is going to “continue to increase,” the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) Director Brian King said in a session Sept. 13 at CSP’s Tobacco Plus Forum in Schaumburg, Illinois.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.