Barbara Boxer: “it has now been more than 6 years since Congress gave the FDA authority to regulate the tobacco industry, and it is…”

“it has now been more than 6 years since Congress gave the FDA authority to regulate the tobacco industry, and it is absolutely outrageous that we are still waiting for a final rule that would protect our children from e-cigarettes. What has happened while we wait? E-cigarette use among middle and high school students tripled last year compared to the year before. That means that as many as 2.5 million children are now experimenting with these dangerous products. While we are finally making progress in reducing traditional cigarette smoking among young people, the soaring use of e-cigarettes is putting our children at risk of lifelong addiction to nicotine. Every day that e-cigarettes continue to go unregulated, more and more children and teens are being exposed to nicotine--which according to the Surgeon General poses health risks for adolescent brain development. E-cigarettes also contain potentially dangerous chemicals like benzene, cadmium, formaldehyde, propylene glycol, and some of the very same nanoparticles that are in traditional cigarettes according to the California Department of Public Health. But those chemicals are masked by e-cigarette flavors like bubble gum and gummy bear--which are clearly marketed toward children. And the industry's dangerous targeting of young people is working.…”