FDA appoints Lawrence Deyton, MD, as first director of new Center for Tobacco Products

Deyton had past success with smoking cessation programs during his tenure at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Complying with provisions in the recently enacted Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009, the FDA has announced the launch of its new Center for Tobacco Products.

The Center will oversee the implementation of tobacco legislation, and will assist the FDA in setting performance standards, reviewing premarket applications for tobacco products and establishing and enforcing advertising and promotional restrictions. Lawrence Deyton, MD, a clinical professor of medicine and health policy at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, will serve as the Center’s first director. Deyton also served as the chief public health and environmental hazards officer for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Under Deyton’s leadership, current smoking among veterans enrolled in the VA smoking cessation program declined from 33% in 1999 to 22% in 2007.

“I am eager for the challenge of leading the tobacco team at FDA,” said Deyton in a press release. “This is a tremendous opportunity for us at FDA to work hand-in-hand with the CDC, researchers at the National Institutes of Health and public health leaders in the states to make progress combating tobacco use, which is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.”

A $5 million allocation from the 2009 budget will establish the administrative and functional framework of the Center, with additional funding to be drawn from user fees paid by manufacturers and importers of tobacco products. The new Center will be located on the FDA’s White Oak campus in Silver Spring, Md.

“As many Americans know, freedom from tobacco dependence is the key to a healthy future,” Howard Koh, MD, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a press release. “Dr. Deyton’s public health and tobacco cessation experience will be invaluable as the Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA take on this challenge.” – by Eric Raible

We are very excited to see the progress and the appointment of Dr. Deyton to oversee this new functionality at the FDA. This is a major step forward towards really having a more structured, more forceful and a more organized effort to reduce tobacco consumption, and in turn, reducing the leading cause of preventable death and disability in this country — not just for heart disease, but other ailments as well. I view this as a very positive step.

We all have to recognize that this is just one part of the process. If you look at the most recent data, we still have a penetration of tobacco use in this country that is at approximately 20% in most states. In some populations, particularly in ethnic and racial populations, the penetration is over 25%, while in other populations, it may be as low as 15%. Until we can reduce those numbers, we still have a significant part of our population exposed to the risks of tobacco, so none of us can really relax. We must be concerned about public education, trying particularly to protect our children from being exposed to tobacco products. We really need to keep our eye on the process and remain vigilant. This is a major step forward, but it is not the cure. We have to keep working.

– Clyde W. Yancy, MD

Medical Director, Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute, Dallas
President, American Heart Association