Jerry J
Member For 5 Years
I so wish that I could take my vote back.
Dear Jerry,
Every parent in America wants his or her kids to grow up in a healthy environment.
Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in 2009 to help reduce smoking and to keep kids from getting hooked on cigarettes. Since then, big tobacco companies have continued to market products that weren't immediately regulated by this law, including candy flavored e-cigarettes, to millions of kids.
The consequences of this loophole are crystal clear. In just one recent year, from 2013 to 2014, e-cigarette use among high schoolers tripled. Today, nearly 1 in 7 high school students, or two million teenagers nationwide, have used an e-cigarette in the last 30 days.
That's why for many years, I've fought to push the Administration to finalize the blueprint that would regulate e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products that today are sold with virtually zero regulation.
Last week, we finally got some good news.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) tobacco deeming rule would finally be put in place. The new rules announced by the FDA ban the sale of all tobacco products to children under 18, require health warnings, and prohibit free samples.
These are important steps, but there's still more work to be done to protect our children's health. The FDA's new rules don't put any limits on the sale of candy or fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, like 'Gummy Bear' or 'Scooby Snacks', which are targeted to children and designed to get them hooked.
As a father and as a Senator, I am urging the FDA to move quickly to get these insidious flavors off the market, and to ban advertising aimed at our children.
Nevertheless, this news is a significant milestone and a big step forward in protecting our kids' health. Please know I'll always keep pushing to protect our kids from nicotine addiction and to create a healthier America for future generations.
All my best,
Jeff
Dear Jerry,
Every parent in America wants his or her kids to grow up in a healthy environment.
Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in 2009 to help reduce smoking and to keep kids from getting hooked on cigarettes. Since then, big tobacco companies have continued to market products that weren't immediately regulated by this law, including candy flavored e-cigarettes, to millions of kids.
The consequences of this loophole are crystal clear. In just one recent year, from 2013 to 2014, e-cigarette use among high schoolers tripled. Today, nearly 1 in 7 high school students, or two million teenagers nationwide, have used an e-cigarette in the last 30 days.
That's why for many years, I've fought to push the Administration to finalize the blueprint that would regulate e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products that today are sold with virtually zero regulation.
Last week, we finally got some good news.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) tobacco deeming rule would finally be put in place. The new rules announced by the FDA ban the sale of all tobacco products to children under 18, require health warnings, and prohibit free samples.
These are important steps, but there's still more work to be done to protect our children's health. The FDA's new rules don't put any limits on the sale of candy or fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, like 'Gummy Bear' or 'Scooby Snacks', which are targeted to children and designed to get them hooked.
As a father and as a Senator, I am urging the FDA to move quickly to get these insidious flavors off the market, and to ban advertising aimed at our children.
Nevertheless, this news is a significant milestone and a big step forward in protecting our kids' health. Please know I'll always keep pushing to protect our kids from nicotine addiction and to create a healthier America for future generations.
All my best,
Jeff