# US Senate confirms anti-vaping Health Secretary



## Hooked (19/3/21)

https://vaping360.com/vape-news/108990/senate-confirms-xavier-becerra-as-hhs-secretary/
18 March 2021

As HHS [Health and Human Services] secretary, [Xavier] Becerra will oversee three agencies whose actions impact vaping: the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)...

During his time as California’s attorney general, Becerra was generally antagonistic to vaping, although not more than most Democratic politicians from that state. He supported a federal flavor ban, and said he would support an outright ban of online sales. Last year, he filed a brief in support of the California Assembly’s flavored tobacco product ban (including vapes) when that law was challenged by tobacco companies. (Attorneys general are expected to defend all state laws against challenges.)

In 2019, Becerra filed a lawsuit charging Juul Labs marketed and sold its products to minors—something several other states have also done. He also created a program that gave millions in grants to local schools and law enforcement to “educate” kids about vaping, which he said was popular because of misinformation propagated by “big tobacco companies.” However, Becerra also backed then-FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s 2017 plan to reduce nicotine in cigarettes, which was not exactly an anti-vaping position...

While it’s impossible to predict with certainty, Becerra is probably unlikely to micromanage the FDA’s vaping regulation.

Reactions: Informative 6


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## fbb1964 (20/3/21)



Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1


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