Letter to the editor: FDA must reform to help adults quit cigarettes

Ryan Spak’s op-ed “FDA must do better for smokers trying to quit” (Sept. 16, TribLive) is a compelling and urgent call for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to rethink its approach to helping smokers leave cigarettes behind for good. As someone deeply concerned about public health, I wholeheartedly applaud Spak’s clear-eyed critique of the FDA’s sluggish and overly bureaucratic work to authorize innovative smoke-free products, such as nicotine pouches and vapes, that could help adults transition from cigarettes.

Spak’s persuasive and evidence-based argument holds that the FDA’s slow authorization process for harm reduction products is failing adults who smoke. He rightly points out that the FDA’s bureaucratic roadblocks have left adult smokers with fewer options that could help them put cigarettes behind them. Adults deserve access to alternative products that could improve public health.

Spak rightly acknowledges the importance of keeping nicotine out of the hands of young people but argues this should be achieved through the enforcement of existing laws rather than through additional, misguided prohibitionist policies — and that such efforts shouldn’t come at the expense of adults who deserve access to alternatives to cigarettes.

We must urge the FDA to prioritize harm reduction and expedite authorizations for rigorously tested products. I hope Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation will hold the FDA accountable in this mission.

Jeff Smith

Butler