Blumenthal Statement on New CDC Report on E-Cigarette Use Among Adults

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) issued the following statement after the Center for Disease Control (CDC) released the results of a study on e-cigarette use among adults in the United States:

“This CDC survey revealed troubling findings about e-cigarette use among American young people and the lengths to which companies are going to attract a new generation of smokers. Teenagers’ use of e-cigarettes has tripled in just one year, and the study shows that e-cigarette use in that demographic is higher than among adults – evidence that the companies’ marketing, including its use of flavors, is working. As I have said repeatedly, the FDA can and must do more to further regulate and restrict the sale of deadly tobacco products on the market. The evidence is clear on the harmful, addictive nature of e-cigarettes, and the FDA must finalize the long-overdue deeming rule to ensure the public is aware of and protected from the harmful effects of these products.”

Blumenthal has consistently worked to protect consumers from the harms of tobacco products, and just last week he urged the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to quickly complete its review of a long-overdue rule to regulate e-cigarettes and other forms of tobacco. This summer, Blumenthal wrote to the FDA pressing them to finalize deeming rules that would regulate tobacco products on the market like e-cigarettes and hookah. Last year, he led a letter to President Obama after the FDA failed to meet its 120-day deadline to review and finalize tobacco product regulations. Blumenthal also re-introduced legislation in April that would enforce reforms to deter consumers, specifically children, from purchasing tobacco products.

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