Trump surgeon general nominee discloses tobacco, pharma investments

President Trump’s surgeon general nominee reported investments in the tobacco company Philip Morris International as well as beverage companies Monster Beverage Corp, Coca Cola Co. and Pepsi Co., according to financial disclosures released Thursday.

Nicole Saphier disclosed these investments in an ethics agreement, where she pledged to completely or partially divest from those companies, as well as shed stock holdings with a host of pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry leaders — including Eli Lilly, Biogen, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Merck, AbbVie and more.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made it a priority to crack down on the unhealthy, overprocessed foods he says are partially to blame for the rise in chronic disease.

Saphier has also championed removing food additives, cutting ultra processed foods from diets and encouraging exercise. She is also the founder of DropRx, which sells “physician-formulated” herbal supplements.

Saphier is director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Monmouth in New Jersey and a former Fox News contributor. According to her ethics agreement, she is taking an unpaid leave of absence from the hospital.

The surgeon general is considered America’s doctor, responsible for communicating the best scientific information to Americans about how to improve their health.

Saphier nomination marks the Trump administration’s third attempt at filling the position, after the first two, Janette Nesheiwat and Casey Means, were pulled due to lack of support in the Senate.

Saphier’s Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 16.