CTP to Release Reagan-Udall Response in February
The Head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) said in a perspective released today that the Center recently received the findings from the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s independent evaluation of its program and is in the process of closely reviewing the feedback. In February, the Center will provide an update on its planned actions in response to the evaluation.
When the Reagan-Udall Foundation submitted its recommendations to Robert Califf, commissioner of the FDA, in December, the report concluded that vaping industry stakeholders observed a lack of “consistent implementation” of what the industry understood to be the policies of the CTP, particularly with respect to tobacco harm reduction and the requirements needed to navigate the PMTA process.
CTP Director Brian King also announced the Center has accepted for review more than 8,600 marketing applications for synthetic products. In a recently released perspective, King said the center received more than 1 million premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) from 200 companies by May 14, 2022.
“FDA has also issued refuse-to-accept (RTA) letters for more than 925,000 products in applications submitted by May 14 that do not meet the criteria for acceptance,” King wrote. “The RTA letters state that it is illegal to sell or distribute the product in the U.S. marketplace without a premarket authorization.”
He also stated that in 2022, CTP participated in 52 meetings with stakeholders – averaging one per week – including 25 meetings since King became director. King also stated that starting when the FDA was given the authority by Congress to regulate non-tobacco nicotine products in April 2022, the CTP has issued more than 75 warning letters to manufacturers through Jan. 20, 2023, including manufacturers of brands popular among youth, such as Puff Bar.
“We have also issued over 585 warning letters to retailers for the sale of non-tobacco nicotine products to underage purchasers as of December 2022. In October 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), on behalf of the FDA,” filed complaints for permanent injunctions in federal district courts against six e-cigarette manufacturers that failed to submit PMTAs and continued to sell products,” wrote King.
In a court filing last week, the FDA stated it will take until possibly December 31, 2023, before it completes the PMTA review process for some of the most popular vapes on the market.
Much like an earlier op-ed this year, King does not address memos recently submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that show King reversed a recommended marketing approval of Logic Technology’s menthol vaping products, ignoring the advice of FDA scientists, according to Logic’s lawyers.
King also failed to address the conclusion of a recent investigation conducted by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel that found the CTP had relaxed its standards of review for certain tobacco products and stifled attempts by its scientists to raise concerns.