Hudson Leads Colleagues in Calling On Biden's FDA to Expedite Approval Process for Smoke-Free Tobacco Products
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC) led 60 of his House Republican colleagues in a letter to President Joe Biden demanding the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expedite the approval process for smoke-free tobacco products so American consumers can have more choices in alternative products. In the letter, the members urged that the FDA move forward with millions of long-pending applications for new smoke-free products and approve them in a timely manner. This letter comes after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) pushed to ban certain nicotine-containing products.
The members wrote, "Rather than banning products that have proven effective in converting smokers or reducing cigarette consumption, the FDA must utilize the regulatory approval framework provided by Congress fifteen years ago. Since the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 was signed into law by President Obama, the FDA has received over 26 million applications to market innovative smoke-free products. However, the FDA has authorized fewer than 50 product applications (of which less than 10 are commercially available products) and many other applications have been waiting over three years for official review."
"Not only has the FDA’s inaction continued to deprive American smokers with greater choice, but it has also contributed to the proliferation of illicit nicotine-containing products coming into the U.S. from markets like China, many of which are intentionally designed to appeal to youth," the members continued.
"We urge your administration to encourage the FDA to review smoke-free product applications more effectively and efficiently and to make those determinations on sound science," the members concluded.
Read the full letter here. Read more in the Washington Examiner here.
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