On the recordDecember 9, 2019
Mr. President, after months of headlines about the dangers of vaping and a litany of mysterious medical conditions, we hit a pretty concerning milestone last week--vaping-related lung injuries have now been reported in all 50 States. Alaska became State No. 50 with the identification of a teen suffering from these illnesses. I said a teen. The teen reported regularly vaping both nicotine and THC products, and while I am glad to hear the patient is recovering, it highlights the need for immediate action to this public health emergency. Nationwide, nearly 28 percent of high school students and 1 in 10 middle school students are using e-cigarettes. That is just to the best of our knowledge. Folks at home are struggling to respond to these growing numbers, and parents and teachers and others are trying to figure out how to get their arms around this problem. Last year, 19 percent of Texas high school students had used an e- cigarette in the last 30 days, and all of these recent cases lead me to believe that this number has gone up and gone up significantly. It is, I believe, a growing epidemic, but folks in North Texas are bearing the brunt of it. More than half of all the vaping-related injuries at home occurred in North Texas. It is also home to the first vaping-related death in the State. Last Friday, I visited the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth to learn more about the dangers of e-cigarettes and the community-led efforts to curb their use.…
Source
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