The dismissal of U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy was another example of President Trump keeping his promise to “drain the swamp,” says anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, a critic of the Obama-appointee who worked to “demonize” vaping.
“As the nation’s top doctor, Murthy had a responsibility to promote public health,” Norquist told the Washington Examiner on Saturday. “On that, he was derelict in his duty, using his position as a platform to demonize vapor products and the millions of adults who use them.”
Murthy was replaced by Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams, who was deputy surgeon general and will serve as the acting surgeon general and assume leadership of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, according to a statement late Friday from the Health and Human Services Department.
Murthy, who was confirmed and sworn in as the 19th surgeon general in December 2014, released a report in late 2016 warning that electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes or vapes, were a threat to young peoples’ health.
Americans for Tax Reform, the group of which Norquist is founder and president, recently started a petition urging Trump to tell Murthy “You’re Fired!” for his opposition to vaping. While he didn’t necessarily take credit for Murthy’s resignation, Norquist said the move “is a big move in the right direction.”
“It signals that President Trump is draining the federal government of Obama-era holdouts who have no interest in the promotion of public health, creation of jobs, or the benefits of the free market. One more point on the board for vapers,” he said.
Regular tobacco cigarettes leave behind harmful tar. E-cigarettes only simulate the act of smoking tobacco, turning liquid nicotine into an inhalable vapor. There are also nicotine-free options.
The debate on the benefits of e-cigarettes is far from settled and there is skepticism in the global community about how much safer they actually are compared to regular cigarettes. A report from the World Health Organization in 2014 pushed for a ban on candy and fruit flavored e-cigarettes and use indoors. The report also called for increased restrictions on e-cigarettes advertising and sales to minors, and cast doubt on their ability to help people wean themselves off cigarettes.
Murthy put out a statement in conjunction with his report last year that vaping is a “growing public health threat to our nation’s young people,” citing the nicotine as an addictive drug which can inhibit brain development and other additives.
Norquist says the U.S. needs to catch up with the rest of the world and embrace vaping as a safer alternative to cigarettes.
“Instead of acknowledging what the rest of the world has, that vapor products are innovative and far safer alternatives to cigarette use, Murthy spent his days parroting talking points of anti-science activists,” Norquist said.
Norquist is eager for the Trump administration to roll back Obama-era Food and Drug Administration regulations that extend oversight of tobacco products to e-cigarettes as well and banned access to minors. Trump’s nominee to head the FDA, Scott Gottlieb, is viewed as being favorable to vaping.
