Top F.D.A. Tobacco Scientist Makes The Move To Phillip Morris

Why is this important?

Before we get into that, let’s get into Matt Holman. Holman is the chief tobacco scientist at the Food and Drug Administration—no small position.

That’s not all though, he’s also one of the main F.D.A. officials who has led the charge to sign as many marketing denial orders (MDOs) as possible against electronic vape manufacturers.

His crusade spared none but Phillip Morris Industries from a marketing ban on their electronic nicotine products.

This same Holman is now stepping down from his position at the F.D.A. for a job at Phillip Morris Industries…

Let that sink in for a second. Regulatory capture and cross-play are very real things, in fact, they seem to be the main event in this country.

How can we trust the F.D.A., or any other public institutions, for that matter, if this is the state of affairs among the agency and its employees?

Here’s more on the story:

INBOX: Matt Holman, the head of the FDA tobacco center's office of science (a huge role), is heading to tobacco giant Phillip Morris. He has been recused from his FDA work because of his looking for a new job, per note from CTP Director Brian King. pic.twitter.com/ll5xPXjcYB

— Nicholas Florko (@NicholasFlorko) July 26, 2022

„Matt Holman resigns at the FDA and is moving to the tobacco company Philip Morris International to be Vice President of US Scientific Engagement & Regulatory Strategy. What to make of this?

I write him an open letter.“

by ⁦@Clive_Bates⁩ https://t.co/8qSAT9Q9qY

— 💭Henri (@PantherNoster) July 27, 2022

According to The New York Times:

Mr. King lauded Dr. Holman’s 20 years of work at the F.D.A., where he has in recent years been “preparing for and overseeing review” of marketing applications for e-cigarettes and other nicotine-delivery products.

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Dr. Holman said in an interview on Wednesday that his exact role at Philip Morris had so far been broadly defined but added that he would work on tobacco harm-reduction efforts and provide some input on regulatory submissions to the agency.

The two most prominent people at CTP—Mitch Zeller (retired) and Matt Holman (going to work for PMI)—are gone in a matter of months, as the center must now weigh its Juul decision, regulate synthetic nic, attempt to ban menthol cigs, and try to lower nic levels in combustibles.

— Alex Norcia (@Alex_Norcia) July 26, 2022

Dr Matt Holman signs every MDO letter and then goes to work for PMI which has product that the FDA ruled could be marketed as less harmful than cigarettes and he then signs the MDO letters for vaping products that are much less harmful than PMI's IQOS product. This is a scandal. https://t.co/1fwtapVUNq

— Mark Weiss (@markhweiss) July 26, 2022

CSP Daily News previously reported:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday issued warnings to 20 companies continuing to market electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products that are the subject of marketing denial orders (MDOs).