Anna Eshoo: “I thank the chair of our committee, and I rise in support of this legislation that is so important for the next…”

“I thank the chair of our committee, and I rise in support of this legislation that is so important for the next generation of Americans, H.R. 2339. Very sadly, there has been a reversal of our country's great progress on tobacco use, and it is because of flavored products and a tobacco industry that preys on our Nation's youth. From 2017 to 2019 e-cigarette use more than doubled among high school students and more than tripled among middle schoolers--even younger. These are kids. They are not even young adults yet. By 2019, last year, 5.3 million middle and high school students were current users, already using some type of tobacco product or e-cigarettes. Over 80 percent of kids who have used tobacco started with a flavored product. That is the hook. According to the surgeon general, they begin using and become addicted to these products because e-cigarette manufacturers have targeted extensive advertising campaigns to kids and to young adults. So this didn't just come out of the ether. This is very purposeful. It is directed, and it is targeted to middle schoolers and high schoolers. Last year Congress raised the legal age to purchase tobacco to 21, but in January the President walked back his promise to address the youth tobacco epidemic by taking only some flavored e-cigarette products off the market. But as we heard from witnesses during our subcommittee hearing last October, those actions are not enough.…”