On Friday, April 5th, on his final day as FDA Commissioner after suddenly and unexpectedly resigning in March, Scott Gottlieb tweeted about jellybeans:
The response on Twitter from vapers was swift and hilarious.
Grimm Green poked fun at the FDA's "gateway theory," which suggests that vaping is a gateway to smoking cigarettes.
@Dan_jaman referenced the Gottlieb's recent press release suggesting that vaping causes seizures despite a statistically insignificant number of reports.
@OgHOOLIGAN13 mocked the inclusion of flavored jellybeans.
And @Lollylulubes pointed out that even Gottlieb himself obviously enjoys sweet flavors despite his attempts to portray flavored vape juice as a vice meant only to appeal to children.
It's hard not to agree with @ItsJohnConner when he stated:
In fact, there's a direct but little known link between jellybeans, Ronald Reagan and smoking that actually make this theory quite likely. Everyone knows that Ronald Reagan was an actor before he became the 40th President of the United States. What fewer people know is that he was an avid smoker and he even appeared in advertisements for cigarette companies!
Yeah, can you imagine a president getting elected after appearing in a cigarette ad these days? How times have changed!
Well, as it turns out, Reagan turned to jelly beans to help him kick the habit in 1967. According to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, licorice was his favorite flavor (yuck!). About a decade later, he became a devoted fan of the new, gourmet jelly bean, Jelly Belly.
Reagan Pictured With One of His Ubiquitous Jars of Jelly Belly Beans
Ronald Reagan was famous for his love of Jelly Bellys. In a fan letter to the company, Reagan wrote, “They [Jelly Belly beans] have become such a tradition of this administration that it has gotten to the point where we can hardly start a meeting or make a decision without passing around a jar of jelly beans.” Reagan had a standing order for 720 bags of beans per month which he handed out to visiting dignitaries and heads of state, munched on over meetings and on Air Force One and had placed around government buildings for people to enjoy.
“You can tell a lot about a fella’s character by whether he picks out all of one color or just grabs a handful,” Reagan once said in an interview. He didn't specify what, exactly, such a choice tells you about a fella.
Reagan's love was not unrequited. To this day, the Jelly Belly factory still proudly displays a shrine devoted to Ronald Reagan. And we do mean shrine! Jelly Belly has a special display case filled with Reagan memorabilia, the official factory tour features an entire wall adorned with Reagan photographs and portraits of Reagan and his wife, Nancy, created from jelly beans are proudly displayed at company headquarters. The company also sent about three and a half tons of Jelly Belly beans, in patriotic colors of course, for Reagan's Presidential inauguration.
While Reagan's love affair with Jelly Belly is common knowledge among political buffs and jelly bean enthusiasts, it's less well known that Reagan became an avid jelly bean eater in order to quit tobacco. Was Scott Gottlieb giving a wink and a nod to Ronald Reagan’s smoking cessation method when he posted a pic of his bowl of Jelly Belly candy as he was leaving the FDA? Given the history, it certainly seems possible.
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