The National Youth Tobacco Survey found that more than 2 million US teens say they use e-cigarettes. A quarter of those teens said they use e-cigarettes on a daily basis.
They shouldn’t be, but for some reason, the FDA has not yet issued regulatory guidance to implement legislation passed in 2019 to raise the tobacco age from 18 to 21.
Sen Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) – who worked together to pass the legislation – are pushing the agency for answers.
“There have already been significant delays in the rulemaking process and limited communication about these delays, resulting in a lack of clarity on enforcement. We urge the FDA to act swiftly to issue a final rule and to increase transparency around enforcement of Tobacco 21,” the senators wrote in a letter to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf.
“We are concerned about the impact that the delay in issuing the final rule has had on enforcement of Tobacco 21. The Tobacco 21 legislation, if properly enforced, is an important tool to reduce the number of children in our country who attempt to access an age-restricted product, which if accessed, may lead to addiction to tobacco and nicotine products. However, without updated sales compliance regulations from the FDA, Congress cannot ensure retailers are abiding by the law,” they continued.
Kaine and McConnell requested that the FDA respond within two weeks with information regarding when a final rule will be issued to update regulations to conform with their legislation, and how they plan to complete compliance checks to ensure the rule is enforced.
Full text of the letter is available here.
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