November 26, 2019

Updated: Senator Warren Urges Regulators and Companies to Increase Oversight, Address Health Impacts of E-Cigarette Products

Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is working with her colleagues in Congress to urge federal regulators and electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) companies, like JUUL Labs, to combat the growing public health crisis of vaping-related illnesses and the epidemic of youth tobacco use. Senator Warren is also working to hold regulators and e-cigarette companies accountable. Her ongoing oversight work includes:
  • Submitting questions for the record to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner nominee Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, raising questions about the Trump administration’s reversal on its plan to remove certain flavored e-cigarettes and nicotine pods from the market and asking what steps the FDA will take to combat youth e-cigarette use and the spate of vaping-related illnesses plaguing the nation.
  • Urging the FDA to move immediately and aggressively to review e-cigarette products and act to protect children and the public’s health.
  • Writing to the FDA regarding reports that e-cigarette use may be correlated with the occurrence of seizures, and urging the agency to swiftly conduct a public health review of e-cigarettes.
  • Sending a letter to then-Acting FDA Commissioner Norman Sharpless recognizing the ten-year anniversary of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act -- legislation that gave FDA sweeping authority to regulate the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of all tobacco products -- and urging the FDA to act quickly and decisively to protect kids from dangerous tobacco products.
  • Calling on companies such as eBay, Alibaba, and Craigslist to crack down on listings for e-cigarettes and vaping products on their marketplace that provide youth an avenue to purchase these products without any age verification.
  • Demanding answers from the heads of the FDA, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on their actions to address the health impacts of e-cigarette products, as illnesses and even deaths are increasingly linked to vaping.
  • Requesting that Senate Appropriators include a $100 million investment in the final, bipartisan appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2020 to boost public health data infrastructure as the nation’s public health system struggles to adequately monitor and address the ongoing outbreak of vaping-related illnesses.
  • Urging HHS to take long-overdue steps to stop the youth e-cigarette epidemic.
  • Writing to JUUL Labs and Altria regarding their companies’ role in fueling the youth vaping epidemic and probing the recent corporate marriage of JUUL Labs -- an e-cigarette company primarily responsible for addicting millions of children -- with Altria, a large manufacturer of traditional tobacco products, including Marlboro cigarettes and Black & Mild cigars.
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