US Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb has resigned, according to The Washington Post. Gottlieb has said that he resigned because he wants to have more time with his family, supposedly came as a surprise to senior White House officials. Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Alex Azar confirmed the news.
Gottlieb was selected as FDA commissioner in May 2017. Had been a top official at the agency during the George W. Bush administration.
Scott confronted 15 retailers including Walgreens Boots Alliance, Kroger Co and Walmart Inc , for illegally selling tobacco products to children. In early February, the FDA pursued enforcement actions against some Walgreen and Circle K locations.
Gottlieb’s campaign against flavored e-cigarettes followed preliminary federal data showing teenage use had surged by more than 75 percent since last year, which the FDA described as an epidemic.
Under Gottlieb, the FDA proposed a ban on the sale of fruit- and candy-flavored electronic cigarettes in convenience stores and gas stations. The FDA also proposed stricter age-verification requirements for online sales of e-cigarettes.
On Tuesday Trump tweeted: “Scott has helped us to lower drug prices, get a record number of generic drugs approved and onto the market, and so many other things. He and his talents will be greatly missed!”
“I’m fortunate for the opportunity that the President of the United States afforded me to lead this outstanding team, at this time, in this period of wonderful scientific advances,” Gottlieb wrote in his resignation letter.
