Free Republic

New CDC chief to target smoking; led charge in NYC By MIKE STOBBE – ATLANTA (AP) — Dr. Thomas Frieden has swung a big stick as New York City's top health official, pushing through bans on smoking and artery-clogging trans fats. The New York Post called him "Dr. Buttinsky." Others attacked him as a wrong-headed crusader. But smoking plummeted and the city made admired inroads against cancer and other chronic diseases. On Sunday, he heads to Atlanta. And on Monday he takes over the federal government's top public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — where he's...

Even with swine flu in the news, the selection of a new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would not normally be a big story. The appointment has made headlines, however, because President Obama’s choice, New York City health commissioner Thomas Frieden, has already made a name for himself as a vocal critic of fast food, soda, and cigarettes. Dr. Frieden is certainly qualified for the CDC spot: he once logged nearly 12 years at that agency, as well as two years in India studying tuberculosis for the World Health Organization. But his impact in New...

Monday May 25, 2009 Obama Selects Top NYC Condom Pusher to Head CDC By Kathleen GilbertWASHINGTON, D.C., May 25, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - President Obama earlier this month appointed New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, a strong proponent of contraceptive-based HIV prevention, as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  The appointment, which Obama announced May 15, does not require Senate confirmation.Frieden, who received degrees in Medicine and Public Health from Columbia University, in 2007 headed up a massive media campaign featuring NYC-brand condoms, tens of millions of which have since been handed out to...

President Barack Obama on Friday will name Dr. Thomas Frieden as director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, administration officials told The New York Times. Frieden has served as New York City's health commissioner for the past seven years. In that time, he spearheaded a campaign to ban smoking in restaurants and bars, boosted the number of New Yorkers getting HIV tests and helped to distribute millions of free condoms. He will inherit a looming decision on how best to manage a swine flu outbreak, including whether or how to produce a swine flu vaccine. The virus...