Blumenthal Statement on FDA Delay Implementing Critical Tobacco Regulations

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released the following statement after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced further delay implementing regulations on tobacco products like electronic cigarettes:

“I am concerned by delay in implementing the commonsense rules finalized last year, which brought long overdue oversight to an industry that was running rampant in a regulatory Wild West. By dragging their feet, the FDA risks rolling back the incredible gains we have made to protect a new generation from a lifetime of disease – and eventual death – brought on by nicotine addiction and tobacco use. If the FDA is serious about protecting public health, it will act aggressively to reduce the level of nicotine in cigarettes, ban flavored tobacco, and abandon their misguided efforts to delay strong enforcement of lifesaving regulations.”