Sec. 2. Findings; Sense of Congress
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Congress finds the following: According to the Food and Drug Administration, because electronic cigarettes have not been fully studied, consumers currently do not know— the potential risks of electronic cigarettes when used as intended; how much nicotine or other potentially harmful chemicals are being inhaled during use; or if there are any benefits associated with using these products. Use of electronic cigarettes has risen in youth according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was released in August 2014, which found that in two years, from 2011 to 2013, the percentage of middle and high school students who had ever used electronic cigarettes more than tripled.
According to a policy statement from the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Society of Clinical Oncology published in Clinical Cancer Research in January 2015, Electronic nicotine delivery systems may also be harmful, particularly to youth, if they increase the likelihood that nonsmokers or former smokers will use combustible tobacco products or if they discourage smokers from quitting. . The New England Journal of Medicine published a study in January 2015 conducted by Portland State University researchers which revealed that e-cigarette vapor can contain hidden formaldehyde at levels five to 15 times higher than regular cigarettes.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified formaldehyde in the riskiest category, saying it causes cancer in humans. The 2014 Surgeon General’s report on smoking, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General report on smoking and health, concludes that nicotine adversely affect maternal and fetal health during pregnancy contributing to multiple adverse outcomes such as preterm delivery and stillbirth. Overall, that exposure to nicotine during fetal development has lasting adverse consequences for brain development.
Moreover, evidence suggests that nicotine exposure during adolescence may also have lasting consequences on the developing brain. Marketing of electronic cigarettes to youth is occurring in the form of advertising using cartoons and sponsorships of events popular with youth such as concerts and sporting events. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Poison Control Centers reported a rapid increase in electronic cigarette-related exposures, of which 51.1 percent were among young children.
Electronic cigarette exposure calls per month increased from one in September 2010 to 215 in February 2014. Due to the lack of long-term studies, we do not know the viability of claims that electronic cigarettes help to lessen dependence on regular cigarettes. According to a paper entitled E–Cigarettes: A Scientific Review published in the American Heart Association’s peer-reviewed journal Circulation, electronic cigarettes contain particles small enough to get into the lungs and then cross into the systemic circulation just like cigarettes.
Therefore, electronic cigarettes do not only produce water vapor as is claimed in the marketing of these products. Furthermore, the particle size distribution and number of particles delivered by electronic cigarettes are similar to those contained in conventional cigarettes. There is already strong evidence that frequent low or short-term levels of exposure to these types of particles from tobacco smoke or air pollution can contribute to health problems such as the increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory disease and death.
The e-liquids used in electronic cigarettes may be toxic if ingested or absorbed through the skin at relatively low quantities. The lack of childproof containers makes this even more of a safety risk for children. It is the sense of Congress that— the Food and Drug Administration— has been authorized to regulate the sale, labeling, packaging, marketing, and advertising of electronic nicotine delivery systems and e-liquids since the enactment of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act on June 22, 2009; and should exercise this authority; and the Federal Trade Commission should prohibit the advertising, promoting, and marketing in commerce of electronic nicotine delivery systems and e-liquids to children as an unfair or deceptive act or practice, in order to protect the health of the youth of the United States.