Thread by @VaporAmerican

Let’s talk about @FDAtobacco Brian King's discontent with facing public criticism. During his cursory remarks and abrupt departure at #GTNF today, King complained that “it’s very easy to be an armchair regulator from the luxury of a social media handle.” THREAD 🪡

Sir, you are a public official. You work for the taxpayers, and you are accountable to American citizens. We have every right to direct questions and critique your way and you have an ethical obligation to explain yourself.

What’s more, any discomfort that either you or your boss, Dr. Califf, may experience on Twitter pales in comparison to the devastating economic and public health consequences that are ongoing from your misguided policies on vaping.

Had you stuck around for the next session, you could have heard from several of those Americans. They included @imaracingmom, whose small business was cratered thanks to your office’s regulations.

She had saved her own life, saved the life of many of her customers, and now her business is gone and lots of those folks are returning to cigarettes.

But instead of listening or having a dialogue with her or taking questions from groups like ours or even in the press, you fled:

That’s irresponsible, it’s unprincipled, and it’s at odds with your public duty and the spirit of your role as a public official.

You also would have heard from Alex Clark, whose organization has collected testimonials from thousands of Americans about how vaping has saved their lives: casaa.org/_testimonials/

But engaging with the public seems to be your lowest priority, even though your decisions will have a direct impact on millions of lives and thousands of small businesses across the country.

We’ve tallied up your unwillingness to participate in meaningful dialogue below. Millions of people trying to quit cigarettes deserve better from officials who claim to be protecting public health.

Here is the question we were prepared to ask you. Does it seem unfair? Is it out of bounds to quote you and inquire if you will apply your own words to the policies of your office? Can we expect a candid answer from you?

Of course you have a standing invitation to have an open dialogue with us and other stakeholders on our podcast or, I’m sure, on any of the many other policy shows that occur in this space. Will you commit to taking part when your schedule permits?