Neal L. Benowitz is an American academic physician and professor of medicine at the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...

(UCSF), with expertise on the pharmacology of

nicotine Nicotine is a natural product, naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants (most predominantly in tobacco and ''Duboisia hopwoodii'') and is widely used recreational drug use, recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. As ...

and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

addiction.

Education

Benowitz studied physics at

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

from 1962 to 1965. He received his M.D. from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

in 1969, after which he worked as an intern and resident at Bronx Municipal Hospital Center for two years as a resident and intern. He then spent the next year working as a fellow in

clinical pharmacology Clinical pharmacology is "that discipline that teaches, does research, frames policy, gives information and advice about the actions and proper uses of medicines in humans and implements that knowledge in clinical practice". Clinical pharmacology ...

at the University of California, San Francisco.

Career

Benowitz joined the faculty of UCSF in 1973 as a clinical instructor. He was appointed an assistant professor there the following year, and became an associate professor in 1981. Since 1987, he has been a professor of medicine, psychiatry, and biopharmaceutical sciences at UCSF. Since 1983, he has also been the chief of UCSF's Clinical Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics division. Benowitz received the 1995 Ferno Clinical Research Award from the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT).In 1996, he was honored with the Alton Ochsner Award Relating Smoking and Disease. The American Society of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics bestowed the Rawls-Palmer Progress in Medicine Award on Benowitz in 1999, and the Oscar B. Hunter Memorial Award in Therapeutics in 2006. From 1996-97, Benowitz served as elected President of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. He served as President of the American Society of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (ASCPT) from 1996-97.

Research

Benowitz is known for studying the pharmacology of nicotine, and he has been called "one of the country's preeminent experts on nicotine." In 1988, he served as a senior scientific editor of the

Surgeon General Surgeon general (: surgeons general) is a title used in several Commonwealth countries and most NATO nations to refer either to a senior military medical officer or to a senior uniformed physician commissioned by the government and entrusted with p ...

's report on nicotine addiction. In 2009, he co-wrote a report from the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

on the cardiovascular effects of

passive smoking Passive smoking is the inhalation of tobacco smoke, called passive smoke, secondhand smoke (SHS) or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), by individuals other than the active Tobacco smoking, smoker. It occurs when tobacco smoke diffuses into the ...

FDA Committee membership

In 2010, Benowitz was named a member of the

Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) is an advisory panel of the United States Food and Drug Administration organized to provide advice, information and recommendations to the FDA commissioner on matters related to the regulati ...

, an advisory panel of the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

. At the time, some were concerned that he might have a conflict of interest due to the fact that he had served as a consultant to

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...

and

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

, who make

smoking cessation Smoking cessation, usually called quitting smoking or stopping smoking, is the process of discontinuing tobacco smoking. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, which is Addiction, addictive and can cause Substance dependence, dependence. As a resu ...

products, but Benowitz dismissed these accusations, saying that he didn't see a "direct conflict of interest" because the panel does not oversee smoking cessation products. In 2011, tobacco companies Lorillard and

RJ Reynolds Richard Joshua Reynolds (July 20, 1850 – July 29, 1918) was an American businessman and founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. The son of a tobacco farmer and major slaveowner, he worked for his father and attended Emory & Henry Colle ...

sued the Food and Drug Administration, claiming that Benowitz, along with Jack Henningfield and Jonathan Samet, had conflicts of interest that disqualified them from being members of the committee. Specifically, the tobacco companies claimed that Benowitz, Henningfield and Samet had conflicts of interest because all three of them had received thousands of dollars to testify against tobacco companies and had served as advisors to companies that make smoking cessation products. In July 2014, Judge Richard J. Leon ruled in favor of the companies, finding that Benowitz, Henningfield and Samet all were ineligible to serve on the panel due to their conflicts of interest, and ordering the FDA to reorganize the panel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benowitz, Neal L. Living people American pharmacologists Anti-smoking activists Clinical pharmacologists University of California, San Francisco faculty University of Rochester alumni Year of birth missing (living people)