Activities

Lunch with Dr. Lawrence R. Deyton, Director, Center for Tobacco Products

At a luncheon on January 21, FDA Alumni Association members were treated to an illuminating presentation by Lawrence R. Deyton, M.S.P.H., M.D. the Director of FDA's new Center for Tobacco Products. While introducing Dr. Deyton, a. k. a. "Bopper", Nancy Myers noted that he had an illustrious background in public health. After being a founder of the Whitman Walker Clinic, Dr. Deyton's career included 11 years of leadership positions at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, (NIAID), 6 years in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, (DHHS), work as a legislative aide with the U.S. House of Representatives, and a decade on the Veteran's Affairs leadership team that included responsibilities on tobacco use cessation.

FDA established the Center for Tobacco Products to carry out its new responsibilities to regulate the content, marketing and sale of tobacco products created when the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was signed in June, 2009. The Act requires tobacco companies to reveal product ingredients, to pay user fees, to seek FDA approval for any new tobacco products, to limit advertising and sales and to use prominent warning labels. Tobacco companies and distributors must register with FDA. Relationships with states, tribal nations and territories are called for in the Act. During the lively question and answer period, Dr. Deyton indicated that an intramural science program using FDA labs and expertise in other agencies such as NIOSH and other NIH institutes, CDC, the VA and DOD would be established. Data about tobacco product ingredients, pyrolysis profiles, impact on public health etc. was being sought from industry and other sources. There is no shortage of work for this Center which has issued guidance for registration, ingredient listing, et al. with other draft guidance documents in the pipeline. Topics such as GMP's, possible standards, establishing thresholds, are under discussion. International activities and numerous public meetings are in process. There are a number of positions to be filled in the Center for Tobacco Products which has 49 employees at this time.

Drafted by Lois Beaver; photos taken by Tom Sobotka.