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DeGette Says New E-Cigarette Regulation Will Make Kids Safer

May 5, 2016

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) said American children are safer and can look forward to a healthier future thanks to today’s final rule bringing regulation of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products under the authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“Tobacco products can make people sick and even kill them,” DeGette said. “Protecting Americans from these dangers, particularly young people intrigued by new nicotine products, is critical. The tobacco industry has been pushing back against scrutiny and regulation every step of the way, but today the right side has won the fight for our country’s health.”

For years, DeGette has been pushing the FDA to regulate the production, sale and marketing of all tobacco products. She strongly supported the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, also known as the Tobacco Control Act. This 2009 law granted authority to the FDA to regulate the production, sale, and marketing of tobacco products. The law was intended to prevent young people from using such products at an early age, when they are more susceptible to addiction.

As a result of this law, the FDA announced four years ago that it would regulate e-cigarettes, hookahs and flavored cigars. In April 2014, the agency announced proposed new rules as an interim step toward today’s action, a step that DeGette hailed at the time.

In early 2014, DeGette joined Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) in introducing H.R. 4325, the Protecting Children from Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act, which would prohibit the advertising of e-cigarettes to minors.

Additionally, she has lauded the Colorado legislature for passing laws placing e-cigarettes in the same category as other tobacco products in the absence of FDA intervention.