Sen. Dick Durbin says anti-vaping stance cost FDA chief his job

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary resigned this week after being under pressure from several special interests, including the vaping lobby.

Makary was pressured to approve flavored vapes. Fruit and candy-flavored vapes are frequently targeted toward children.

“Big tobacco can’t sell cigarettes anymore, so they sell vaping devices to our kids,” Sen. Dick Durbin told WAND News. “What do they have in common? Nicotine, an addictive chemical. So, they hook kids on their products.”

Durbin voted to approve Makary’s nomination when Makary said he would take a tough stand on vapes aimed at kids.

“40 to 50% percent of the kids in America, who are in high school or junior high school, are vaping. And it’s dangerous, and it’s addictive. He (Makary) said he’d stand by his promise to me, he did, and he got fired as a result of it,” Durbin said.