UPDATE: Another New York health official picked by US President Obama

Following the selection by President Barack Obama of one former New York City Health Commissioner, Margaret Hamburg, to take over as  Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (Marketletters  passim), the President has selected another holder of the same position,  Thomas Frieden, to be the next Director of the Atlanta,  Georgia-headquartered Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dr Frieden's appointment is seen as a firm indicator of the new  administration's anti-smoking credentials. According to the New York  Times, when asked by a colleague after the September 11, 2001, terrorist  attacks what his priority as NY Health Commissioner would be in 2002, Dr  Frieden said: "Tobacco is killing more people, and that's my priority."

In addition to his New York public health activism, where he has pressed  for the banning of smoking and trans fats in restaurant, Dr Friedman  worked for five years in India on tuberculosis control.