Denton promises to follow science
Jump to full article: Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal, 2009-11-09
Author: James R. Carroll
Intro: Today Dr. Lawrence Deyton, who at 57 still goes by his childhood nickname of "Bopper," is the nation's first anti-smoking czar. He directs a new agency in the federal Food and Drug Administration -- the Center for Tobacco Products -- that is writing rules to govern the previously unregulated tobacco industry.
In last week's interview, Deyton twice stressed that he is not an anti-tobacco zealot.
"I am not an expert in tobacco," he said. "But I am an expert in public health, and I am an expert in government health programs."
And what Deyton promises is "methodical, science-based tobacco regulation."
But Deyton already has been greeted with worry from growers in tobacco-producing states like Kentucky, and three lawsuits from the industry challenging the agency's authority to restrict advertising and marketing.
The center was created under a sweeping anti-smoking law passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on June 22.
Its three key goals are to reduce youth smoking rates, which in recent years have leveled off at about 20 percent; to reduce the overall toll of tobacco-related disease, which annually kills more than 400,000 Americans; and to provide the public with information about the ingredients of tobacco products and their health effects.
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