Former FDA Official to Lecture on ‘Tobacco Wars’

Dr. David Kessler, the former U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner who played a central role in the government’s legal dealings against the tobacco industry, will present a free lecture Monday at UC Irvine.

“The Tobacco Wars: Risks and Rewards of a Major Challenge” will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

The lecture by Kessler, now dean of the Yale University School of Medicine, is the highlight of a daylong series of scientific and public policy sessions featuring national experts who will discuss tobacco-related disease research. Experts also will discuss the legal settlement between the U.S. government and the nation’s tobacco companies.

Kessler’s lecture and the sessions are part of the 1997-98 Tanner Lectures on Human Values, a series that rotates among universities in the United States and Great Britain.

Information: (714) 824-6503.