Shaheen, Murkowski Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Hold E-Cigarette Companies Accountable for the Youth Vaping Crisis

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) are introducing bipartisan legislation to hold e-cigarette companies accountable for the youth vaping crisis. TheResources to Prevent Youth Vaping Actwould require e-cigarette manufacturers to pay user fees to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help conduct stronger oversight of the e-cigarette industry and increase awareness of the danger of e-cigarettes.
“E-cigarettes are dangerous and addictive, and while there’s been significant progress in curbing use among our youth, there’s more we can do in Congress to protect future generations of children from the manipulative practices used by e-cigarette companies for profit,”said Senator Shaheen.“Our commonsense legislation would close a key loophole that has allowed e-cigarette manufacturers to put products on the market without paying their dues to FDA, giving the agency more funding to deploy tools to continue to crack down on the youth vaping epidemic and protect the health and well-being of children across the nation.”
“Allowing the FDA to collect user fees on e-cigarette manufacturers and using those resources to educate on the dangers of vaping will help promote the health of America’s young people,”said Senator Murkowski. “While we have made meaningful progress in reducing youth e-cigarette use in Alaska and across the country, we cannot afford to become complacent. We must continue building on that progress and ensure young people understand the dangers of these addictive products.”
Unlike traditional cigarette manufacturers, e-cigarette companies do not pay any user fees to FDA. By closing this loophole, theResources to Prevent Youth Vaping Actwould give FDA more funding to conduct safety reviews of vaping products, prevent sales of e-cigarettes to minors, help support efforts to educate youth on the dangers of e-cigarettes and increase the agency’s oversight and enforcement capabilities.
The American Lung Association, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the American Academy of Pediatrics have endorsed the legislation. In addition to Shaheen and Murkowski, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) are cosponsors of the legislation.
A copy of the bill text can be foundHERE.
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