FDA chief Scott Gottlieb resigns: reports

He has frequently threatened companies that he would pull their products off the market if they didn’t stop marketing to teenagers.The rule has not been made public yet, but Gottlieb has previously proposed limiting the sales of most flavored e-cigarettes to age-restricted, in-person locations, effectively ending sales at gas stations and convenience stores.He also recently requested meetings with the leaders of e-cigarette manufacturers and large retailers about what they’re doing to keep the devices away from kids.The initiative drew praise from some anti-tobacco activists, but was criticized by conservatives and some Republican members of Congress who said he was going too far.“The FDA is a stand out agency, across the administration, that’s moving in the completely wrong direction,” said Paul Blair of Americans for Tax Reform, which led a coalition of conservative groups seeking to block the changes.Blair, in an interview before Gottlieb’s resignation, said the commissioner’s approach to regulation is inconsistent with the president’s agenda."Without your intervention, Commissioner Gottlieb may not only destroy tens of thousands of jobs at small stores and manufacturers, but he will prevent some of the more than 35 million American adults who still smoke tobacco cigarettes from ever successfully quitting," ATR and 18 other groups wrote in a letter to Trump last month.Tobacco stocks briefly spiked on the news Gottlieb was planning to resign; shares of Altria, which recently invested $13 billion in e-cigarette maker Juul, jumped almost $2 a share before leveling off.