Shalala and Pallone Introduce Comprehensive Legislation to Address Youth Tobacco Epidemic

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by: Donna E. Shalala (D-FL, 27th)

Washington, D.C. - April 18, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL) announced the introduction of the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019 today. The new legislation aims to address the sharp rise in use of tobacco and e-cigarette products among young people.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported an alarming 78 percent increase in current e-cigarette use by high school students and 48 percent increase among middle school students from 2017 to 2018. According to reports, the sharp increase in tobacco use in recent years could reverse years of progress in reducing youth tobacco use in America.

“The Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act makes clear that we will not tolerate the proliferation of slick new products purposefully designed to appeal to young people to get them addicted to nicotine and tobacco” Pallone said. “Congress must act to reduce youth nicotine addiction by making it clear that selling tobacco products to kids is illegal. My legislation also treats e-cigarettes and other tobacco products the same as traditional cigarettes under the law. We cannot afford to wait – we are on the cusp of losing an entirely new generation to a lifetime of nicotine addiction.”

“If a person does not start using tobacco products when they are young, it is less likely they will start as an adult. As HHS Secretary during the Clinton Administration, we made great strides in holding tobacco companies accountable for marketing their products to kids, and we reduced the number of people who smoked cigarettes,” Shalala said. “But now, the use of e-cigarettes, particularly by children, is beginning to undo years of progress we have made. Our bill, The Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act, takes concrete steps to limit access and the appeal of tobacco products to people under 21. At the end of the day, our main goal is to reduce the number of kids using tobacco products in the United States.”

The Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019 includes a number of important provisions to curb the rise of youth tobacco use:

Requires FDA to finalize a rule requiring graphic health warnings for cigarette packages within 12 months;

Extends FDA regulations on the sale, distribution, and use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to all deemed tobacco products, including e-cigarettes;

Raises the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products to 21 years and makes it unlawful for any retailer to sell a tobacco product to any person younger than 21 years of age;

Directs FDA to prohibit non-face-to-face sales of all tobacco products including e-cigarettes and e-cigarette accessories;

Prohibits all characterizing flavors of tobacco products, including menthol;

Provides FDA with authority to collect user fees from all classes of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes;

Instructs FDA to issue a final rule on the regulation of products containing synthetic nicotine or nicotine that is not made or derived from tobacco;

Makes it unlawful to market, advertise, or promote any e-cigarette products to individuals under the age of 21; and,

Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue an annual report to Congress on the domestic sales, advertising, and promotional activity of cigarette, cigar, smokeless tobacco, and e-cigarette manufacturers.

Pallone and Shalala’s bill has widespread support from public health advocates, including: the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Thoracic Society, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, March of Dimes, and National African American Tobacco Prevention Network.

Section-by-section available HERE.

Bill text available HERE.

Senator Markey Leads Call for Ban on Menthol Cigarettes

Washington, D.C. - August 24, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today led a group of U.S. Senators in calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban menthol cigarettes. In 2011, the FDA conducted a scientific review that concluded “that menthol cigarettes pose a public health risk above that seen with non-menthol cigarettes.” Despite this finding and other supporting data, the FDA has yet to take action to address the risk of menthol in cigarettes. Recently, the agency indicated it would open another public comment period on menthol, an activity that will serve to further delay any action to protect public health from the dangers of menthol cigarettes. In their letter to FDA, the Senators point to one model that found that because of the availability of menthol cigarettes, nine million individuals would initiate smoking between 2010 and 2050. Another model showed that hundreds of thousands of deaths would be averted by removing menthol. The FDA’s own scientific assessment also found that menthol cigarettes frequently serve as a starter product for youth, are associated with increased nicotine dependence in young smokers, and make it more difficult to quit smoking.

“As Senators committed to the FDA’s mission to protect public health, we believe it is time for the FDA to act on the substantial scientific data and use the authority provided by the Tobacco Control Act to remove menthol cigarettes from the marketplace,” write the Senators in the letter to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. “Continued delay on this issue will only further worsen this public health crisis, as a new generation of smokers are initiated and become addicted to menthol cigarettes.”

A copy of the letter to the FDA can be found HERE.

Also signing the letter are Senator Patty Murray (D-Ore.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).