Alex Azar II has been nominated to serve as the next secretary of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS).

He previously served in the department under George W. Bush and most recently served as the head of the American division of Eli Lilly, a major pharmaceutical company.

If confirmed, Azar will oversee large parts of the federal government’s healthcare, including the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), which has begun regulating cigars.

It’s unclear what thoughts, if any, Azar has on tobacco. Unlike his predecessor, Dr. Tom Price and current FDA head Scott Gottlieb, it doesn’t appear Azar has made public statements on tobacco.

Price resigned in September after weeks of controversy regarding his use of private jets paid for by tax dollars.

Azar will need to be confirmed by the Senate.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.