On December 12, the U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Stephen Hahn to be the next FDA Commissioner. Dr. Hahn will take over for Admiral Brett Giroir, Assistant Secretary for Health within the Department of Health and Human Services, who has been overseeing the FDA since Ned Sharpless’s tenure as “acting” FDA Commissioner expired in November 2019. Sharpless became acting FDA Commissioner following Scott Gottlieb’s resignation as FDA Commissioner in April 2019.

As our readers may recall, Dr. Hahn is a professor of radiation oncology and the current Chief Medical Officer of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. While Hahn has never served in a government post, five previous FDA commissioners and several physician and research organizations, including the American Association for Cancer Research, supported Hahn’s nomination.

Dr. Hahn’s confirmation comes amidst a frenzy of activity relating to vaping and e-cigarette products. During his confirmation hearing, Hahn faced questions about whether he intended to finalize FDA’s proposed ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. While Dr. Hahn did not commit to a ban, he acknowledged that “this is an important, urgent crisis in this country” and that “I very much agree and support that aggressive action needs to be taken to protect our children.” Other notable topics at Hahn’s confirmation hearing included opioids and drug pricing. The final senate vote was 72 to 18.

In addition to the regulation of flavored e-cigarettes, as FDA Commissioner, Dr. Hahn will face several other pressing public health issues, including the regulation of food and dietary supplements containing CBD, the production and labeling of cell-based meat and plant-based alternatives, and proposed revisions to current food Standards of Identity, among others.