Members of Congress are calling on President Joe Biden and his administration to take action against what they say is a major flaw in regulating flavored e-cigarettes that jeopardize the health of millions of American youth.
“These cigarettes are marketed and targeted towards children [and] many of our kids are smoking them,” said U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) during a recent interview with theGrio.
This month, lawmakers in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives targeted the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the FDA, urging the federal agencies to act to prevent the marketing and sale of e-cigarette nicotine products to middle and high-school-aged children.
Cherfilus-McCormick introduced a bill in the House of Representatives on Feb. 9 that seeks to compel the federal government to better regulate e-cigarette manufacturers. The Disposable ENDS Product Enforcement Act of 2023 would direct HHS, which runs the FDA, to update its guidance on enforcing electronic nicotine delivery systems – or e-cigarettes – and “other deemed products.”
The Florida congresswoman, a former health care executive who was elected to Congress last year, said her goal is to protect the health of young people and combat what she says is a popular trend.
“We heard from many of our constituents and schoolteachers that a lot of the children now are even smoking in the bathrooms,” she told theGrio.
According to a 2022 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 2.5 million U.S. middle and high school students currently consume e-cigarette products.
Cherfilus-McCormick said she believes the popularity of disposable flavored e-cigarette products results from intentional marketing, including child-friendly flavors like strawberries and cream, and pineapple. Of the more than 2 million children who self-reported smoking e-cigarettes to the…
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