WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products is lacking clear goals — and that lack of vision is hampering its ability to regulate millions of tobacco products currently on the market, according to an external review of the center released Monday.
“The Center’s current goals and priorities are unclear in communication and practice,” the review states. “The lack of clarity about [the tobacco center’s] direction, its priorities, and its near-term and longer-term goals and objectives, hinders [the center’s] ability to effectively carry out its mission, establish efficient programs to accomplish its goals and objectives, and set appropriate metrics to assess outcomes.”
The stinging review, which was ordered by FDA Commissioner Robert Califf in July, was conducted by the independent Reagan-Udall Foundation and a panel of five former regulators. In a statement Monday, Califf said that the center’s leadership will review the findings and “will provide an update by early February.”
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