Washington, D.C. — Today, Lindsay Lewis, Executive Director at the Progressive Policy Institute, released the following statement in response to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing on “Oversight of the Food and Drug Administration” with FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf. Part of the hearing included the FDA’s response to regulating tobacco and nicotine products through its Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).
“Today’s hearing in the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability highlights the FDA’s failure to provide clear and fair regulatory pathways for smoke-free products, which are far less harmful alternatives than combustible cigarettes. It is the FDA’s responsibility to implement the 2009 Tobacco Control Act, and it has failed spectacularly to approve a majority of the premarket tobacco smoke-free products.
“Not only is this a clear market failure, it’s a public health failure. New nicotine delivery products, like heat-not-burn and vapes, provide an off-ramp to adult cigarette smokers that are 95-99% less harmful than traditional combustible cigarettes. The FDA must provide clear and achievable approval pathways, that are scientifically validated and do not appeal to youth, to provide millions of adult smokers an option for better smoking alternatives.”
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org.
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Media Contact: Tommy Kaelin – tkaelin@ppionline.org
