Thomas Frieden, who has been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testified in New York City's tribal smoke shop case on Monday.

Frieden is the city's health commissioner. He said smoke shops on the Poospatuck Reservation contribute to hundreds of deaths because they do not collect state sales taxes.

The case is being heard in federal court. A judge said the smoke shops can't claim sovereign immunity because they are not operated by the Unkechaug Indian Nation, a state-recognized tribe.

As head of the CDC, Frieden would oversee Indian health research.

Get the Story:
Obama pick Thomas Frieden: Native American cigarette sales must end (The New York Daily News 5/19)

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