Former CTP head, Brian King, will now lead the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ anti-vape and anti-tobacco efforts in the US. Photo credit: CTK
Brian King, who was removed from his position last month as head of the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), was appointed executive vice president for US programs at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (TFK). In his new role, King will oversee the organization’s initiatives across federal, state, and local levels.
“I am excited to join the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an organization that has contributed substantially to reducing the devastating human and financial toll of tobacco use in the United States and around the world,” King said. “I look forward to working with the team to build on the progress that has been made and to confront challenges head on. We cannot take our foot off the gas as tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the US and is a major driver of chronic disease and health disparities.”
During King’s tenure at CTP, the agency became a flashpoint of controversy, drawing fire from lawmakers, public health groups, and the vaping industry alike. Under his leadership, CTP denied millions of flavored vape product applications, arguing that companies failed to prove their benefit to adult smokers outweighed the risk to youth. These sweeping rejections, which included no approvals for bottled e-liquids, refillable devices, or any non-tobacco-company brands, triggered a wave of lawsuits and intensified criticism that King had shifted the agency away from regulation and toward prohibition.
TFK, the largest US group focused on tobacco control, has directed most of its US efforts toward banning flavored vaping and tobacco products. King will now lead these efforts. Since 2019, TFK has managed hundreds of millions in grants from Bloomberg Philanthropies, including a US$160 million pledge specifically to fight flavored vapes. In 2023, Bloomberg awarded the group another major grant to continue lobbying for restrictions on non-combustible nicotine products.