Staying the course

The Food and Drug Administrations’s (FDA) acting commissioner, Ned Sharpless, announced on Tuesday that he’ll keep pressure on teen vaping. Sharpless assured staff during his first official remarks that he plans to “maintain FDA’s current course of action in every area and proceed full-speed ahead.”

“We’ll maintain our focus on ending the use of combustible cigarettes among adults, and on preventing kids from ever starting,” Sharpless said.

Sharpless, former director of the National Cancer Institute, took over after Scott Gottlieb stepped down. He assured staff that the FDA would not ease any pressure on e-cigarette makers under Sharpless’ new leadership.

“Let me dispel any misconceptions that the change in leadership reflects some desire of the president or the secretary for the FDA to go in a different direction from the Gottlieb era,” Sharpless said.