Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress finds as follows: As of September 11, 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration reported 380 confirmed and probable cases of severe pulmonary disease cases associated with the widespread use of electronic cigarettes (referred to in this section as e-cigarettes ). As of September 17, 2019, States have reported as many as 7 deaths nationwide associated with the use of e-cigarettes. The American Medical Association has stated that e-cigarette-related lung illnesses reaffirm[s] our belief that the use of e-cigarettes and vaping is an urgent public health epidemic that must be addressed .
The Surgeon General has warned that the proliferation of e-cigarettes is cause for great concern , and that the use of e-cigarettes has become an epidemic among our nation’s young people . Since 2014, e-cigarettes have been the most commonly used tobacco product among youth in the United States. According to the Food and Drug Administration, youth consistently report product flavorings as a leading reason for using tobacco products and flavors may disguise the taste of tobacco .
In 2019, more than 1 in every 4 high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. On September 9, 2019, the Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter to one of the largest e-cigarette companies for violating Federal regulations and utilizing illegal marketing tactics. E-cigarettes are not currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a smoking cessation aid. More research is needed to evaluate the safety of e-cigarettes, including the risks associated with tampering with and altering e-cigarettes and the health implications of heating aerosolized tobacco products.