Political Quotes

“I echo the voices of my friends and colleagues, the Senators from Oregon, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Rhode Island in calling on the FDA to act with all possible speed to issue final rules on regulating e-cigarettes. I want to thank especially my friend from Oregon, Senator Merkley, and my friend from California, Senator Boxer, who have been real leaders on this issue. The Federal Government has an imperative to protect the public from dangerous products with commonsense restrictions. E-cigarettes are no exception. Their use among middle schoolers and high schoolers has skyrocketed--tripled among high schoolers according to a recent National Youth Tobacco Survey--and their risks are numerous. E-cigarettes contain liquid nicotine, an addictive chemical which can impede brain development when consumed at a young age. And these liquid nicotine containers are often sold without child protection caps in many parts of the country--and there have been far too many tragedies already of young children accidentally ingesting liquid nicotine. In Fort Plain, in upstate New York, a toddler of 18 months lost his life in such an accident--a terrible tragedy for two young parents. It is what propelled my home State to pass a requirement that all these liquid nicotine bottles be sold with child protection caps. But, as my colleagues pointed out, the companies that sell these e- cigarettes are largely unregulated at the Federal level.…”