[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 40 (Friday, February 28, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H1257-H1286]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REVERSING THE YOUTH TOBACCO EPIDEMIC ACT OF 2019
General Leave
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and add extraneous material on H.R. 2339, the Protecting
American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 866, I call
up the bill (H.R. 2339) to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act with respect to the sale and marketing of tobacco products, and for
other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 866, in lieu of
the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the
Committee on Energy and Commerce printed in the bill, an amendment in
the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee
Print 116-51, modified by the amendment printed in House Report 116-
409, is adopted and the bill, as amended, is considered read.
The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:
H.R. 2339
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting American Lungs
and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I--FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
Sec. 101. Cigarette graphic health warnings.
Sec. 102. Advertising and sales parity for all deemed tobacco products.
[[Page H1258]]
Sec. 103. Reducing child and adolescent nicotine addiction.
Sec. 104. Prohibition against remote retail sales.
Sec. 105. Fees applicable to all tobacco products.
Sec. 106. Regulation of products containing alternative nicotine.
Sec. 107. Update to youth tobacco prevention public awareness
campaigns.
Sec. 108. Exemption from premarket review of certain tobacco products.
Sec. 109. Public education.
Sec. 110. Regulations for recordkeeping concerning tracking and
tracing.
TITLE II--FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Sec. 201. Advertising of tobacco products.
TITLE III--PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS
Sec. 301. Outreach to medically underserved communities.
Sec. 302. Demonstration grant program to develop strategies for smoking
cessation in medically underserved communities.
Sec. 303. Public awareness, education, and prevention campaign.
Sec. 304. Tobacco cessation treatment grants to health centers.
Sec. 305. Grants for research.
TITLE IV--NICOTINE OR VAPING ACCESS PROTECTION AND ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 401. Increasing civil penalties applicable to certain violations
of restrictions on sale and distribution of tobacco
products.
Sec. 402. Study and report on e-cigarettes.
TITLE V--EXCISE TAX ON NICOTINE USED IN VAPING, ETC.
Sec. 501. Imposition of tax on nicotine for use in vaping, etc.
TITLE VI--FURTHER HEALTH INVESTMENTS
Sec. 601. Waiving Medicare coinsurance for colorectal cancer screening
tests.
Sec. 602. Safe harbor for high deductible health plans without
deductible for certain inhalers.
TITLE I--FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
SEC. 101. CIGARETTE GRAPHIC HEALTH WARNINGS.
(a) Issuance Deadlines.--Not later than March 15, 2020, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the
Commissioner of Food and Drugs, shall publish a final rule
pursuant to section 4(d) of the Federal Cigarette Labeling
and Advertising Act (15 U.S.C. 1333(d)). If the Secretary
fails to promulgate such final rule by March 15, 2020, then
the proposed rule titled ``Tobacco Products; Required
Warnings for Cigarette Packages and Advertisements''
published by the Food and Drug Administration on August 16,
2019 (84 Fed. Reg. 42754) shall be treated as a final rule
beginning on March 16, 2020.
(b) Conforming Change.--The first section 4(d) of the
Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (15 U.S.C.
1333(d)) (relating to graphic labeling statements) is amended
by striking ``Not later than 24 months after the date of
enactment of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco
Control Act, the Secretary'' and inserting ``The Secretary''.
SEC. 102. ADVERTISING AND SALES PARITY FOR ALL DEEMED TOBACCO
PRODUCTS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs,
shall promulgate a final rule amending part 1140 of
subchapter K of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, to
apply the provisions of such part 1140 to all tobacco
products, as applicable, to which chapter IX of the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387a et seq.) applies
pursuant to section 901(b) of such Act (21 U.S.C. 387a(b)),
as amended by section 103(a) of this Act.
(b) Effective Date.--The final rule required by subsection
(a) shall take effect on the date that is 2 years after the
date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 103. REDUCING CHILD AND ADOLESCENT NICOTINE ADDICTION.
(a) Applicability to All Tobacco Products.--
(1) In general.--Subsection (b) of section 901 of the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387a) is
amended to read as follows:
``(b) Applicability.--This chapter shall apply to all
tobacco products.''.
(2) Rule of construction.--Paragraph (1) and the amendment
made thereby shall not be construed to limit the
applicability of chapter IX of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387a et seq.) to--
(A) products that were listed in section 901(b) of such Act
as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this
Act; and
(B) products that were deemed by regulation to be subject
to such chapter pursuant to section 901(b) of such Act as in
effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.
(b) Prohibiting Flavoring of Tobacco Products.--
(1) Prohibition.--
(A) In general.--Subparagraph (A) of section 907(a)(1) of
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C.
387g(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
``(A) Special rules.--
``(i) In general.--Beginning on the date that is 1 year
after the date of enactment of the Protecting American Lungs
and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020, a
tobacco product (including its components, parts, and
accessories, including the tobacco, filter, or paper) that is
not an electronic nicotine delivery system shall not contain,
as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive,
an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco) that is
a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco
smoke or an herb or spice, including menthol, mint, mango,
strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple,
vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or
coffee.
``(ii) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subparagraph
shall be construed to limit the Secretary's authority to take
action under this section or other sections of this Act
applicable to any artificial or natural flavor, herb, or
spice.
``(iii) Applicability to certain individuals.--
Notwithstanding any provision of this Act, no individual who
purchases for individual consumption, possesses for
individual consumption, or consumes, a tobacco product that
is in violation of the prohibition under this subparagraph,
including a tobacco product that contains a characterizing
flavor of menthol, shall be subject to any criminal penalty
under this Act for such purchase, possession, or consumption,
nor shall such purchase, possession, or consumption be used
as a justification to stop, search, or conduct any other
investigative measure against any individual.''.
(B) Savings provision.--Section 907(a)(1) of the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387g(a)(1)), as in
effect on the date of enactment of this Act, shall remain in
effect until the amendment made to such section 907(a)(1) by
this paragraph takes effect.
(2) Flavored electronic nicotine delivery system.--Section
910 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C.
387j) is amended by inserting at the end the following:
``(h) Flavored Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems.--
``(1) Restriction.--Beginning on the date that is 30 days
after the date of enactment of the Protecting American Lungs
and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020, any
flavored electronic nicotine delivery system that is a new
tobacco product, including any solution or other component or
part (such as a liquid or its aerosol) shall not contain an
artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco) that is a
characterizing flavor, including menthol, mint, mango,
strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple,
vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or
coffee, unless the Secretary has issued a marketing order as
described in paragraph (2). Nothing in this paragraph shall
be construed to limit the Secretary's authority to take
action under this section or other sections of this Act
applicable to any artificial or natural flavor, herb, or
spice.
``(2) Review.--The Secretary shall not issue a marketing
order under subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) or a substantial
equivalence order under subsection (a)(2)(A)(i) for any
electronic nicotine delivery system, including any liquid,
solution, or other component or part or its aerosol, that
contains an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco)
that is a characterizing flavor, unless the Secretary issues
an order finding that the manufacturer has demonstrated
that--
``(A) use of the characterizing flavor--
``(i) will significantly increase the likelihood of smoking
cessation among current users of tobacco products; and
``(ii) will not increase the likelihood that individuals
who do not use tobacco products, including youth, will start
using any tobacco product, including an electronic nicotine
delivery system; and
``(B) such electronic nicotine delivery system is not more
harmful to users than an electronic nicotine delivery system
that does not contain any characterizing flavors.''.
(3) Definition of electronic nicotine delivery system.--
Section 900 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21
U.S.C. 387) is amended--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through (22) as
paragraphs (9) through (23), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following new
paragraph:
``(8) Electronic nicotine delivery system.--The term
`electronic nicotine delivery system' means a tobacco product
that is an electronic device that delivers nicotine, flavor,
or another substance via an aerosolized solution to the user
inhaling from the device (including e-cigarettes, e-hookah,
e-cigars, vape pens, advanced refillable personal vaporizers,
and electronic pipes) and any component, liquid, part, or
accessory of such a device, whether or not sold
separately.''.
(4) Limitation on enforcement.--A law enforcement officer
of a State or political subdivision thereof may not enforce
(including by making any stop, search, seizure, or arrest or
by pursuing any prosecution, trial, or punishment) any
provision of section 907(a)(1)(A) or 910(h) of the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended and added by this
subsection.
SEC. 104. PROHIBITION AGAINST REMOTE RETAIL SALES.
(a) In General.--Paragraph (4) of section 906(d) of the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387f(d)) is
amended to read as follows:
``(4) Prohibition against remote retail sales.--
``(A) Prohibition.--Not later than 18 months after the date
of enactment of the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing
the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020, the Secretary shall
promulgate a final regulation prohibiting the retail sale of
all tobacco products other than retail sales through a
direct, face-to-face exchange between a retailer and a
consumer.
``(B) Exception for certain cigar tobacco products.--
``(i) Exception.--The regulation required by subparagraph
(A) shall not apply to tobacco products described in section
910(a)(2)(A)(iii).
``(ii) Applicable requirements.--Not later than 18 months
after the date of enactment of the Protecting American Lungs
and Reversing
[[Page H1259]]
the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020, the Secretary shall
promulgate regulations regarding the sale and distribution of
tobacco products described in section 910(a)(2)(A)(iii) that
occur through means other than a direct, face-to-face
exchange between a retailer and a consumer in order to
prevent the sale and distribution of tobacco products
described in section 910(a)(2)(A)(iii) to individuals who
have not attained the minimum age established by applicable
law for the purchase of such products, including requirements
for age verification.
``(C) Relation to other authority.--Nothing in this
paragraph--
``(i) limits the authority of the Secretary to take
additional actions under other provisions of this Act; or
``(ii) preempts the authority of a State or local
government to establish restrictions on the retail sale of
tobacco products that are in addition to, or more stringent
than, the prohibition under subparagraph (A).''.
(b) Applicability.--Section 906(d)(4) of the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as in effect on the day before the
date of enactment of this Act, shall continue to apply until
the effective date of the regulations required by section
906(d)(4) of such Act, as amended by subsection (a).
SEC. 105. FEES APPLICABLE TO ALL TOBACCO PRODUCTS.
(a) Increase in Total Amount.--Section 919(b)(1) of the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387s(b)(1))
is amended by striking subparagraph (K) and inserting the
following subparagraphs:
``(K) For fiscal years 2019 and 2020, $712,000,000.
``(L) For fiscal year 2021, $812,000,000.
``(M) For each subsequent fiscal year, the amount that was
applicable for the previous fiscal year, increased by the
total percentage change that occurred in the Consumer Price
Index for all urban consumers (all items; United States city
average) for the 12-month period ending June 30 preceding the
fiscal year.''.
(b) Applicability.--
(1) Fiscal years 2020 and 2021.--Except as amended by
subsection (a), for fiscal years 2020 and 2021, section 919
of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387s)
shall apply as in effect on the day before the date of
enactment of this Act.
(2) Subsequent fiscal years.--The amendments made by
subsections (c) through (f) apply beginning with fiscal year
2022.
(c) Allocations of Assessment by Class of Tobacco
Products.--Paragraph (2) of section 919(b) of the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387s(b)) is amended
to read as follows:
``(2) Allocations of assessment by class of tobacco
products.--
``(A) In general.--The total user fees assessed and
collected under subsection (a) each fiscal year (beginning
with fiscal year 2022) with respect to each class of tobacco
products to which this chapter applies shall be an amount
that is equal to the applicable percentage of each class for
the fiscal year multiplied by the amount specified in
paragraph (1) for the fiscal year.
``(B) Applicable percentage.--
``(i) In general.--For purposes of subparagraph (A), the
applicable percentage for a fiscal year for each class of
tobacco product shall be the percentage determined by
dividing--
``(I) the product of the gross domestic volume of the class
multiplied by the tax rate applicable to the class under
section 5701 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
``(II) the sum of the products determined under subclause
(I) for all classes of tobacco products.
``(ii) Definition.--For purposes of clause (i), the term
`gross domestic volume' means the volume of tobacco
products--
``(I) removed (as defined by section 5702 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986); and
``(II) not exempt from tax under chapter 52 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 at the time of their removal under that
chapter or the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (19 U.S.C. 1202).''.
(d) Allocation of Assessment Within Each Class of Tobacco
Product.--Section 919(b)(4) of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387s(b)(4)) is amended by striking
``shall be the percentage determined for purposes of
allocations under subsections (e) through (h) of section 625
of Public Law 108-357'' and inserting ``shall be allocated on
a pro rata basis among the manufacturers and importers of
each class of tobacco products to which this chapter applies
based on the percentage share of each manufacturer's or
importer's share of gross domestic volume within such class
on a quarterly basis, based on data for the second preceding
quarter''.
(e) Other Amendments.--Section 919(b) of the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387s(b)) is amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (5);
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as paragraphs
(5) and (6), respectively; and
(3) by amending paragraph (6), as redesignated, to read as
follows:
``(6) Memorandum of understanding; reporting.--
``(A) Transfer of information.--The Secretary shall request
the appropriate Federal agency to enter into a memorandum of
understanding that provides for the regular and timely
transfer from the head of such agency to the Secretary of all
necessary information regarding all tobacco product
manufacturers and importers required to pay user fees. The
Secretary shall maintain all disclosure restrictions
established by the head of such agency regarding the
information provided under the memorandum of understanding.
``(B) Reporting.--
``(i) Manufacturer reporting.--The Secretary may require
the manufacturers and importers of each class of tobacco
products to which this chapter applies to submit such
information, by such time, and in such manner, as the
Secretary determines to be necessary to implement this
section.
``(ii) Reports to congress.--For fiscal year 2020 and each
subsequent fiscal year for which fees are collected under
this section, the Secretary shall, not later than 120 days
after the end of the respective fiscal year, submit to the
Congress financial and performance reports with respect to
such fees.''.
(f) Prohibited Act.--Section 301(q)(1)(B) of the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 331(q)(1)(B)) is
amended by inserting ``919(b)(6)(B),'' before ``or 920''.
SEC. 106. REGULATION OF PRODUCTS CONTAINING ALTERNATIVE
NICOTINE.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs,
shall--
(1) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, issue an interim final rule providing for the
regulation of products containing alternative nicotine under
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et
seq.); and
(2) not later than 2 years after such date of enactment,
issue a final rule providing for such regulation.
(b) Alternative Nicotine.--In this section, the term
``alternative nicotine'' means nicotine that is not made or
derived from tobacco plants and may include nicotine that is
chemically synthesized, synthesized from recombinant genetic
technology, or extracted from non-tobacco plants.
SEC. 107. UPDATE TO YOUTH TOBACCO PREVENTION PUBLIC AWARENESS
CAMPAIGNS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall--
(1) review all public health awareness campaigns of the
Department of Health and Human Services designed to educate
at-risk individuals about the harmful effects of tobacco use,
including the use of e-cigarettes and other electronic
nicotine delivery systems; and
(2) as applicable, modify such campaigns to include
awareness and education materials designed for individuals
who are 18 to 21 years of age.
(b) Consultation.--In carrying out subsection (a), the
Secretary of Health and Human Services may consult with
medical and public health associations and nonprofit
organizations.
SEC. 108. EXEMPTION FROM PREMARKET REVIEW OF CERTAIN TOBACCO
PRODUCTS.
(a) In General.--Section 910(a)(2) of the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387j(a)(2)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) in clause (i)(II), by striking ``or'';
(B) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; or''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) subject to subparagraph (C), for the period
beginning on the date of the enactment of the Protecting
American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act
of 2020 and ending on September 30, 2028, the tobacco product
is a cigar and--
``(I) is wrapped in whole tobacco leaf;
``(II) contains a 100-percent leaf tobacco binder;
``(III) contains primarily long filler tobacco;
``(IV) does not have a characterizing flavor other than
tobacco;
``(V) weighs more than 6 pounds per 1000 units;
``(VI) has no filter, tip, or non-tobacco mouthpiece;
``(VII)(aa) is made by combining manually the wrapper,
filler, and binder and is capped by hand; or
``(bb) has a homogenized tobacco leaf binder and is made in
the United States using human hands to lay the 100-percent
leaf tobacco binder onto only one machine that bunches,
wraps, and caps each individual cigar; and
``(VIII) has a retail price (after discounts or coupons)
per cigar of no less than--
``(aa) for calendar years 2019 and 2020, $12; and
``(bb) for each subsequent calendar year, $12 multiplied by
any percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for all
urban consumers (all items; U.S. city average) since calendar
year 2020.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Determination of applicability.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall, notwithstanding
subparagraph (A)(iii) or any determination of substantial
equivalence, if any of the conditions specified in clause
(ii) are met--
``(I) withdraw any exemption applicable to a tobacco
product or products described in such subparagraph;
``(II) require that applications for review under this
section be submitted with respect to such product or
products; and
``(III) require that manufacturers may only market such
tobacco product after the issuance of an order under
subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) with respect to such product or
products.
``(ii) Conditions.--The conditions specified in this clause
are that--
``(I) the Secretary determines that the use of a tobacco
product or products described in subparagraph (A)(iii) has
resulted in an emerging public health threat;
``(II) data from a National Youth Tobacco Survey (or
successor survey) conducted after the date of the enactment
of the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth
Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020 identifies a rise in youth usage
of tobacco products described in section 910(a)(2)(A)(iii);
or
``(III) the Secretary determines that a tobacco product or
products no longer meets the criteria specified in such
subparagraph.''.
[[Page H1260]]
(b) National Academies Study and Report.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs,
shall enter into an agreement with the National Academies of
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under which the National
Academies shall conduct a study on--
(A) the public health impact of having tobacco products
described in subsection (a)(2)(A)(iii) of section 910 of the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387j), as
amended by subsection (a), exempt from premarket review under
such section;
(B) the youth usage of such tobacco products; and
(C) the market share of such products.
(2) Report.--The agreement under paragraph (1) shall
include a requirement that the National Academies of
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine submit to Congress, not
later than December 31, 2026, a report on the findings of the
study conducted under such paragraph.
SEC. 109. PUBLIC EDUCATION.
Section 906 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21
U.S.C. 387f) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Education on Tobacco Products.--
``(1) In general.--Beginning not later than 6 months after
the date of the enactment of the Protecting American Lungs
and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the
Commissioner of Food and Drugs and in consultation with the
Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, shall provide
educational materials for health care providers, members of
the public, and law enforcement officials, regarding--
``(A) the authority of the Food and Drug Administration
with respect to the regulation of tobacco products (including
enforcement of such regulation);
``(B) the general processes of the Food and Drug
Administration for enforcing restrictions on the manufacture
and sale of tobacco products;
``(C) the general enforcement actions the Food and Drug
Administration may take to implement the prohibition on
characterizing flavors in tobacco products under section
907(a)(1);
``(D) the public health impact of tobacco products with
characterizing flavors; and
``(E) other information as the Secretary determines
appropriate.
``(2) Content.--Educational materials provided under
paragraph (1) may include--
``(A) explanations of key statutory and regulatory terms,
including the terms `tobacco product', `component parts',
`accessories', `constituent', `additive', `tobacco product
manufacturer', and `characterizing flavor';
``(B) an explanation of the Food and Drug Administration's
jurisdiction to regulate tobacco products, including tobacco
products with characterizing flavors under section 907(a)(1);
``(C) general educational information related to
enforcement tools and processes used by the Food and Drug
Administration for violations of the prohibition specified in
section 907(a)(1);
``(D) information on the health effects of using tobacco
products, including those with the characterizing flavors
referred to in section 907(a)(1); and
``(E) information on resources available related to smoking
cessation.
``(3) Format.--Educational materials provided under
paragraph (1) may be--
``(A) published in any format, including an internet
website, video, fact sheet, infographic, webinar, or other
format, as the Secretary determines is appropriate and
applicable; and
``(B) tailored for the unique needs of health care
providers, members of the public, law enforcement officers,
and other audiences, as the Secretary determines appropriate.
``(4) Funding.--To carry out this subsection, there is
authorized to be appropriated, and there is appropriated, out
of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,
$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. Funds
made available by the preceding sentence to carry out this
subsection shall be in addition to funds that are derived
from fees under section 919 and are otherwise made available
to carry out this chapter.''.
SEC. 110. REGULATIONS FOR RECORDKEEPING CONCERNING TRACKING
AND TRACING.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through
the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, shall promulgate the
regulations required by section 920(b) of the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387t) in accordance with
the following schedule:
(1) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall issue proposed regulations.
(2) Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate final regulations.
TITLE II--FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
SEC. 201. ADVERTISING OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS.
(a) Advertising of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems.--
(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful--
(A) to market, advertise, or promote any electronic
nicotine delivery system in a manner that appeals to an
individual under 21 years of age; or
(B) to market, advertise, promote, or endorse, or to
compensate any person for the marketing, advertising,
promotion, or endorsement of, any electronic nicotine
delivery system without clearly disclosing that the
communication is an advertisement, unless the communication
is unambiguously identifiable as an advertisement.
(2) Enforcement by commission.--
(A) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--A violation of
paragraph (1) shall be treated as a violation of a regulation
under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act
(15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts
or practices.
(B) Powers of commission.--The Commission shall enforce
paragraph (1) in the same manner, by the same means, and with
the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all
applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into
and made a part of this Act. Any person who violates such
paragraph shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to
the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade
Commission Act.
(3) Enforcement by state attorneys general.--
(A) In general.--If the attorney general of a State has
reason to believe a violation of paragraph (1) has occurred
or is occurring, the attorney general, in addition to any
authority the attorney general may have to bring an action in
State court under the law of the State, may bring a civil
action in any court of competent jurisdiction to--
(i) enjoin further such violation by the defendant;
(ii) enforce compliance with such paragraph;
(iii) obtain civil penalties in the same amount as may be
obtained by the Commission in a civil action under section
5(m) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(m));
or
(iv) obtain damages, restitution, or other compensation on
behalf of residents of the State.
(B) Notice.--Before filing an action under subparagraph
(A), the attorney general of a State shall provide to the
Commission a written notice of such action and a copy of the
complaint for such action. If the attorney general determines
that it is not feasible to provide the notice described in
this subparagraph before the filing of the action, the
attorney general shall provide written notice of the action
and a copy of the complaint to the Commission immediately
upon the filing of the action.
(C) Authority of federal trade commission.--
(i) In general.--On receiving notice under subparagraph (B)
of an action under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall
have the right--
(I) to intervene in the action;
(II) upon so intervening, to be heard on all matters
arising therein; and
(III) to file petitions for appeal.
(ii) Limitation on state action while federal action is
pending.--If the Commission has instituted a civil action for
violation of paragraph (1) (referred to in this clause as the
``Federal action''), no attorney general of a State may bring
an action under subparagraph (A) during the pendency of the
Federal action against any defendant named in the complaint
in the Federal action for any violation of such paragraph
alleged in such complaint.
(D) Relationship with state-law claims.--
(i) Preservation of state-law claims.--Nothing in this
section shall prevent the attorney general of a State from
bringing an action under State law for acts or practices that
also violate paragraph (1).
(ii) Assertion in same civil action.--If the attorney
general of a State has authority to bring an action under
State law for acts or practices that also violate paragraph
(1), the attorney general may assert the State-law claim and
the claim for violation of such paragraph in the same civil
action.
(E) Actions by other state officials.--In addition to civil
actions brought by attorneys general under subparagraph (A),
any other consumer protection officer of a State who is
authorized by the State to do so may bring a civil action
under such subparagraph, subject to the same requirements and
limitations that apply under this paragraph to civil actions
brought by attorneys general.
(4) Rulemaking authority.--The Commission may promulgate
regulations under section 553 of title 5, United States Code,
to implement paragraph (1).
(b) Report to Congress on Tobacco Product Advertising.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Commission shall submit to Congress a report relating to each
category of products described in paragraph (2) (or a single
report a portion of which relates to each such category) that
contains the following:
(A) Information on domestic sales and advertising and
promotional activity by the manufacturers that have the
largest market shares of the product category.
(B) Such recommendations for legislation as the Commission
may consider appropriate.
(2) Product categories described.--The categories of
products described in this paragraph are the following:
(A) Cigarettes.
(B) Cigars.
(C) Smokeless tobacco.
(D) Electronic nicotine delivery systems.
(c) Preservation of Authority.--Nothing in this section may
be construed in any way to limit the Commission's authority
under any other provision of law.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Cigar.--The term ``cigar'' means a tobacco product
that--
(A) is not a cigarette; and
(B) is a roll of tobacco wrapped in leaf tobacco or any
substance containing tobacco.
(2) Cigarette.--The term ``cigarette'' has the meaning
given such term in section 900 of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387).
(3) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(4) Electronic nicotine delivery system.--The term
``electronic nicotine delivery system''
[[Page H1261]]
means a tobacco product that is an electronic device that
delivers nicotine, flavor, or another substance via an
aerosolized solution to the user inhaling from the device
(including e-cigarettes, e-hookah, e-cigars, vape pens,
advanced refillable personal vaporizers, and electronic
pipes) and any component, liquid, part, or accessory of such
a device, whether or not sold separately.
(5) Endorse.--The term ``endorse'' means to communicate an
advertising message (including a verbal statement,
demonstration, or depiction of the name, signature, likeness,
or other identifying personal characteristics of an
individual or the name or seal of an organization) that
consumers are likely to believe reflects the opinions,
beliefs, findings, or experiences of a party other than the
sponsoring advertiser, even if the views expressed by such
party are identical to those of the sponsoring advertiser.
(6) Nicotine.--The term ``nicotine'' has the meaning given
such term in section 900 of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387).
(7) Smokeless tobacco.--The term ``smokeless tobacco'' has
the meaning given such term in section 900 of the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387).
(8) Tobacco product.--The term ``tobacco product'' has the
meaning given such term in section 201 of the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321).
TITLE III--PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS
SEC. 301. OUTREACH TO MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
Section 399V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
280g-11) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs
(5) and (6), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) to educate and provide guidance to medically
underserved communities, particularly racial and ethnic
minority populations, regarding effective evidence-based
strategies--
``(A) to prevent tobacco, e-cigarette, and nicotine
addiction, including among youth; and
``(B) for smoking cessation, including cessation of the use
of menthol-flavored tobacco products, and the cessation of
the use of e-cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery
systems;'';
(2) in subsection (d)(1)(B), by inserting ``, including
chronic diseases related to and caused by tobacco use'' after
``diseases''; and
(3) in subsection (j), by striking ``are authorized to be
appropriated, such sums as may be necessary to carry out this
section for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014'' and
inserting ``is authorized to be appropriated, and there is
appropriated, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, $75,000,000 to carry out this section for each
of fiscal years 2021 through 2025''.
SEC. 302. DEMONSTRATION GRANT PROGRAM TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES
FOR SMOKING CESSATION IN MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED
COMMUNITIES.
Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section
317U (42 U.S.C. 247b-23) the following:
``SEC. 317V. DEMONSTRATION GRANT PROGRAM TO DEVELOP
STRATEGIES FOR SMOKING CESSATION IN MEDICALLY
UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
shall establish a demonstration program to award grants to,
or contract with, State, local, or Tribal public health
departments to support--
``(1) the development of improved evidence-based strategies
for smoking cessation, including cessation of the use of
menthol-flavored tobacco products, and the cessation of the
use of e-cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery systems,
for populations in medically underserved communities,
particularly racial and ethnic minority populations;
``(2) the development of improved communication and
outreach tools to reach populations in medically underserved
communities, particularly racial and ethnic minority
populations, addicted to tobacco products, including e-
cigarettes and menthol-flavored tobacco products; and
``(3) improved coordination, access, and referrals to
services for tobacco cessation and the cessation of the use
of e-cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery systems,
including tobacco cessation products approved by the Food and
Drug Administration and mental health and counseling
services.
``(b) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
subsection (a), a State, local, or Tribal public health
department shall submit to the Secretary an application at
such time, in such manner, and containing such information as
the Secretary may require.
``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this
section, there is authorized to be appropriated, and there is
appropriated, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021
through 2025.''.
SEC. 303. PUBLIC AWARENESS, EDUCATION, AND PREVENTION
CAMPAIGN.
Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 243 et seq.), as amended by section 302, is further
amended by inserting after section 317V the following new
section:
``SEC. 317W. PUBLIC AWARENESS, EDUCATION, AND PREVENTION
CAMPAIGN REGARDING TOBACCO.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and in consultation with the Surgeon General of the Public
Health Service, shall develop and implement a national
campaign to educate youth and young adults, parents,
clinicians, health professionals, and others about the harms
associated with the use by youth and young adults of tobacco
products, including e-cigarettes.
``(b) Requirements.--The campaign under this section
shall--
``(1) be an evidence-based media and public engagement
initiative;
``(2) be carried out through competitively bid contracts;
``(3) include the development of culturally and
linguistically competent resources that may be tailored for
communities with high rates of youth tobacco use;
``(4) be complementary to, and coordinated with, any other
Federal efforts; and
``(5) include message testing to identify culturally and
linguistically competent and effective messages for
behavioral change.
``(c) Optional Components.--The campaign under this section
may include--
``(1) the use of--
``(A) television, radio, print, the internet, and other
commercial marketing venues; and
``(B) in-person public communications; and
``(2) the award of grants to State, local, and Tribal
public health departments to encourage partnerships with
community organizations and health care providers to develop
and deliver evidence-based strategies to prevent youth
tobacco use.
``(d) Funding.--To carry out this section, there is
authorized to be appropriated, and there is appropriated, out
of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,
$45,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.''.
SEC. 304. TOBACCO CESSATION TREATMENT GRANTS TO HEALTH
CENTERS.
(a) In General.--Section 330 of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 254b) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (k) through (r) as
subsections (l) through (s), respectively; and
(2) by adding after subsection (j) the following new
subsection:
``(k) Tobacco Cessation Grants.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may award grants to health
centers to provide comprehensive tobacco cessation treatment,
including counseling and tobacco cessation therapies.
``(2) Funding.--For the purpose of carrying out this
subsection, in addition to other amounts available for such
purpose, there is authorized to be appropriated, and there is
appropriated, out of funds in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, $125,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021
through 2025.''.
(b) Conforming Changes.--Section 330 of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b) is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)(3)(B), by striking ``(k)(3)(J)'' and
inserting ``(l)(3)(J)'';
(2) in subsection (e)(1)(B), by striking ``(k)(3)'' each
place it appears and inserting ``(l)(3)'';
(3) in subsection (l)(3)(H), as redesignated, by striking
``or (p)'' and inserting ``or (q)'';
(4) in subsection (m), as redesignated--
(A) by striking ``(k)(3)'' and inserting ``(l)(3)''; and
(B) by striking ``(m)'' and inserting ``(n)'';
(5) in subsection (q), as redesignated, by striking
``(k)(3)(G)'' and inserting ``(l)(3)(G)'';
(6) in subsection (s)(2)(A), as redesignated--
(A) by striking ``(k)(3)'' and inserting ``(l)(3)''; and
(B) by striking ``(k)(3)(H)'' and inserting ``(l)(3)(H)'';
and
(7) in subsection (s)(3)(I), as redesignated, by striking
``(q)(4)'' and inserting ``(r)(4)''.
(c) Technical Corrections.--
(1) Section 330(h)(5)(B) of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 254b(h)(5)(B)) is amended by striking ``substance
abuse'' each place it appears and inserting ``substance use
disorder''.
(2) Subclause (II) of subsection (l)(3)(E)(i), as
redesignated, of section 330 of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 254b) is amended by moving the indentation 2 ems
to the left.
SEC. 305. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH.
Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``SEC. 399V-7. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON PREVENTION, AND
CESSATION, OF THE USE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall award grants to
support--
``(1) research to develop and improve effective strategies
for prevention, and cessation, of the use of tobacco
products, including--
``(A) cessation of the use of flavored combustible
cigarettes, including menthol-flavored cigarettes;
``(B) cessation of the use of e-cigarette products; and
``(C) prevention and cessation strategies targeted toward
youth; and
``(2) research to aid in the development of safe and
effective tobacco cessation therapies, including therapies
appropriate for populations under the age of 18.
``(b) Funding.--To carry out this section, there is
authorized to be appropriated, and there is appropriated, out
of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,
$75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.''.
TITLE IV--NICOTINE OR VAPING ACCESS PROTECTION AND ENFORCEMENT
SEC. 401. INCREASING CIVIL PENALTIES APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN
VIOLATIONS OF RESTRICTIONS ON SALE AND
DISTRIBUTION OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS.
(a) Penalties.--Subparagraph (A) of section 103(q)(2) of
the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (21
U.S.C. 333 note) is amended to read as follows:
``(A) In general.--The amount of the civil penalty to be
applied for violations of restrictions promulgated under
section 906(d), as described in paragraph (1), shall be as
follows:
``(i) With respect to a retailer with an approved training
program, the amount of the civil penalty shall not exceed--
[[Page H1262]]
``(I) in the case of the first violation, $0, together with
the issuance of a warning letter to the retailer;
``(II) in the case of a second violation within a 12-month
period, $500;
``(III) in the case of a third violation within a 24-month
period, $1,000;
``(IV) in the case of a fourth violation within a 24-month
period, $4,000;
``(V) in the case of a fifth violation within a 36-month
period, $10,000; and
``(VI) in the case of a sixth or subsequent violation
within a 48-month period, $20,000 as determined by the
Secretary on a case-by-case basis.
``(ii) With respect to a retailer that does not have an
approved training program, the amount of the civil penalty
shall not exceed--
``(I) in the case of the first violation, $500;
``(II) in the case of a second violation within a 12-month
period, $1,000;
``(III) in the case of a third violation within a 24-month
period, $2,000;
``(IV) in the case of a fourth violation within a 24-month
period, $4,000;
``(V) in the case of a fifth violation within a 36-month
period, $10,000; and
``(VI) in the case of a sixth or subsequent violation
within a 48-month period, $20,000 as determined by the
Secretary on a case-by-case basis.''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
applies with respect to a violation of a restriction
promulgated under section 906(d)(1) of the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387f(d)(1)), as described
in section 103(q)(1) of the Family Smoking Prevention and
Tobacco Control Act (21 U.S.C. 333 note), occurring on or
after the day that is 6 months after the date of enactment of
this Act. The penalties specified in section 103(q)(2)(A) of
the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (21
U.S.C. 333 note), as in effect on the day before the date of
enactment of this Act, shall continue to apply to violations
occurring before the day specified in the preceding sentence.
SEC. 402. STUDY AND REPORT ON E-CIGARETTES.
Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall--
(1) complete a study on--
(A) the relationship of e-cigarettes to tobacco cessation;
(B) the perception of the harmful effects of e-cigarettes;
and
(C) the effects of secondhand exposure to smoke from e-
cigarettes; and
(2) submit to the Congress a report on the results of such
study, including recommendations based on such results.
TITLE V--EXCISE TAX ON NICOTINE USED IN VAPING, ETC.
SEC. 501. IMPOSITION OF TAX ON NICOTINE FOR USE IN VAPING,
ETC.
(a) In General.--Section 5701 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 is amended by redesignating subsection (h) as
subsection (i) and by inserting after subsection (g) the
following new subsection:
``(h) Nicotine.--On taxable nicotine, manufactured in or
imported into the United States, there shall be imposed a tax
equal to the dollar amount specified in section 5701(b)(1)
(or, if greater, $50.33) per 1,810 milligrams of nicotine
(and a proportionate tax at the like rate on any fractional
part thereof).''.
(b) Taxable Nicotine.--Section 5702 of such Code is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(q) Taxable Nicotine.--
``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this
subsection, the term `taxable nicotine' means any nicotine
which has been extracted, concentrated, or synthesized.
``(2) Exception for products approved by food and drug
administration.--Such term shall not include any nicotine if
the manufacturer or importer thereof demonstrates to the
satisfaction of the Secretary of Health and Human Services
that such nicotine will be used in--
``(A) a drug--
``(i) that is approved under section 505 of the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act or licensed under section 351 of
the Public Health Service Act; or
``(ii) for which an investigational use exemption has been
authorized under section 505(i) of the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act or under section 351(a) of the Public Health
Service Act; or
``(B) a combination product (as described in section 503(g)
of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act), the constituent
parts of which were approved or cleared under section 505,
510(k), or 515 of such Act.
``(3) Coordination with taxation of other tobacco
products.--Cigars, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, pipe
tobacco, and roll-your-own tobacco shall not be treated as
containing taxable nicotine solely because the nicotine
naturally occurring in the tobacco from which such product is
manufactured has been concentrated during the ordinary course
of manufacturing.''.
(c) Taxable Nicotine Treated as a Tobacco Product.--Section
5702(c) of such Code is amended by striking ``and roll-your-
own tobacco'' and inserting ``roll-your-own tobacco, and
taxable nicotine''.
(d) Manufacturer of Taxable Nicotine.--Section 5702 of such
Code, as amended by subsection (b), is further amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(r) Manufacturer of Taxable Nicotine.--
``(1) In general.--Any person who extracts, concentrates,
or synthesizes nicotine shall be treated as a manufacturer of
taxable nicotine (and as manufacturing such taxable
nicotine).
``(2) Application of rules related to manufacturers of
tobacco products.--Any reference to a manufacturer of tobacco
products, or to manufacturing tobacco products, shall be
treated as including a reference to a manufacturer of taxable
nicotine, or to manufacturing taxable nicotine,
respectively.''.
(e) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to articles manufactured or imported in calendar
quarters beginning more than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(2) Transition rule for permit and bond requirements.--A
person which is lawfully engaged in business as a
manufacturer or importer of taxable nicotine (within the
meaning of subchapter A of chapter 52 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended by this section) on the date of the
enactment of this Act, first becomes subject to the
requirements of subchapter B of chapter 52 of such Code by
reason of the amendments made by this section, and submits an
application under such subchapter B to engage in such
business not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, shall not be denied the right to carry
on such business by reason of such requirements before final
action on such application.
TITLE VI--FURTHER HEALTH INVESTMENTS
SEC. 601. WAIVING MEDICARE COINSURANCE FOR COLORECTAL CANCER
SCREENING TESTS.
Section 1833(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395l(a)) is amended--
(1) in the second sentence, by striking ``section 1834(0)''
and inserting ``section 1834(o)'';
(2) by moving such second sentence 2 ems to the left; and
(3) by inserting the following third sentence following
such second sentence: ``For services furnished on or after
January 1, 2024, paragraph (1)(Y) shall apply with respect to
a colorectal cancer screening test regardless of the code
that is billed for the establishment of a diagnosis as a
result of the test, or for the removal of tissue or other
matter or other procedure that is furnished in connection
with, as a result of, and in the same clinical encounter as
the screening test.''.
SEC. 602. SAFE HARBOR FOR HIGH DEDUCTIBLE HEALTH PLANS
WITHOUT DEDUCTIBLE FOR CERTAIN INHALERS.
(a) In General.--Section 223(c)(2)(C) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
(1) by striking ``for preventive care'' and inserting ``for
one or more of the following:
``(i) Preventive care'', and
(2) by adding at the end the following new clause:
``(ii) Inhalers or nebulizers for treatment of any chronic
lung disease (and any medicine or drug which is delivered
through such inhaler or nebulizer for treatment of such
disease).''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The heading for section
223(c)(2)(C) of such Code is amended by striking ``preventive
care deductible'' and inserting ``certain deductibles''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to months beginning after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for
90 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking
minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the
Committee on Ways and Means.
The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Walden), the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), and
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady) each will control 22\1/2\ minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak in support of H.R. 2339. This
bill provides a comprehensive approach to address the youth tobacco
epidemic that has unfolded before our eyes in recent years.
The numbers are disturbing. About 6.2 million American middle and
high school students used some type of tobacco product last year, and
one in every three high school students have used a tobacco product in
the last 30 days. These numbers should alarm us all, especially as we
have worked so hard and invested so much to ensure the next generation
doesn't face the same type of tobacco-related disease and death as
those that have preceded them.
It is clear the tobacco industry has employed the same tactics that
they have used for decades to hook young people on new versions of
their products in order to generate new customers that will be addicted
for life. E-cigarette manufacturers like Juul have used slick product
designs, glossy advisements, and sweet flavors to appeal to kids. The
rapid rise of products like these have reversed the progress we have
made in slowing youth tobacco use.
In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that e-
cigarette use by high school students has increased by 78 percent
between 2017
[[Page H1263]]
and 2018. Young people have said that kid-friendly flavors like bubble
gum, chocolate, cotton candy, and mango are the driving force behind
why they say they began using e-cigarettes in the first place.
There is also evidence that kids perceive flavored tobacco products
to be less harmful than nonflavored alternatives. And flavors mask the
harshness and flavor of the tobacco, causing young and adult smokers to
smoke more, not less.
But e-cigarettes are not the only contributor to the youth tobacco
epidemic. Research has shown that menthol-flavored cigarettes have
contributed to the increased number of young people smoking. In 2019,
nearly half of middle and high school students who were currently
smoking used menthol cigarettes.
Congressional action is necessary today because President Trump broke
his promise to clear the market of flavored e-cigarettes. The
administration's proposal created giant loopholes, leaving a myriad of
disposable and open tank e-cigarette systems on the market that
continue to attract kids, as well as menthol-flavored products.
While it is important for us to increase the minimum age to purchase
tobacco products from age 18 to 21, which we did, the surge in youth
tobacco usage cannot be reversed just by increasing the age alone. In
order to fully combat this crisis, we need a multipronged approach that
tackles all of the reasons and ways that kids are using these products,
and H.R. 2339 is the solution that we need.
This bill prohibits all flavors that are so popular among kids. It
updates and extends existing marketing and advertising restrictions for
combustible tobacco products to all tobacco products, including e-
cigarettes. It restricts the purchase of most tobacco products to only
face-to-face settings and makes it explicitly unlawful to market,
advertise, or promote any e-cigarette product to individuals under the
age of 21. It also invests $2 billion in Federal resources in cessation
support prevention in medically underserved populations, including
racial and ethnic minorities, supplying tobacco cessation therapies and
counseling in community health centers, and funding new strategies for
cessation of menthol tobacco products.
We are proud to have the support of more than 100 organizations,
including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Lung
Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Heart
Association, the American Cancer Society, the NAACP, and the National
Medical Association.
Madam Speaker, we have to take decisive action in order to prevent
losing the next generation of our kids to a lifetime of nicotine
addiction. We have to pass this bill, and I urge all of my colleagues
to join us in supporting the legislation.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time
Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, my colleague from the Energy and Commerce Committee
and I do disagree on this bill.
Every Member in this Chamber is concerned, and rightfully so, about
the rise in youth tobacco use. We all know this: Smoking is harmful,
and we must do what we can to prevent use by children and adolescents.
This is a goal that we share as Republicans and Democrats and with
President Trump, which is why we have worked together to address the
increase in youth tobacco use by making it illegal for anybody under
the age of 21 to buy these products. We have done that together. We
have passed that. It is now law.
The use of traditional tobacco products by children has actually
declined over the last decade. In fact, the surge in tobacco use in
recent years has been caused by one thing, and that is the emerging
popularity of e-cigarettes, vaping. The use of e-cigarettes increased
from 3.6 million youth users in 2018 to 5.4 million last year. That
increase is truly alarming. But that is not what this bill addresses.
We addressed youth vaping when we raised the age to 21 to be able to
buy these tobacco products. Most children were acquiring e-cigarettes
through social sourcing. So, what does that mean? This occurs in
high schools where kids who are over 18 at that time would acquire the
products and then resell them to kids who were under 18. That is what
was going on. By moving the legal age to 21, we have closed that
loophole.
We unanimously passed legislation requiring online retailers to
verify age at the time of sale and delivery. That bill is still
awaiting the Senate's action, but I think it demonstrates that we did
come together in a bipartisan way to address this problem.
Now the legislation before us goes much further than most of us can
support, because what it does is make legal products for adults
illegal. Now, I am not a smoker, I am not a chewer, I don't do any of
that stuff, but I know a lot of people who do. And they use these
products as adults, and these flavored products will be banned under
this law. So if you do chew, if you do smoke, if you use these menthol
cigarettes or menthol chew or something, and you are an adult, this
legal product today will be illegal if this bill were to become law.
Now, meanwhile, the majority Democrats have refused to address
another issue that is a big problem in my communities and my schools.
Marijuana-based products can still be flavored, and they are not
covered by this legislation. Now, they will say, oh, that is illegal in
America anyway. Well, we all know states like Oregon and others that
have passed these rules, nobody is enforcing the law against marijuana,
it is Federal.
But what we do have is literally products named CannaKids grape
flavor. Another one over here CannaKids. This is what is happening.
They are using these products mixed with acetate vitamin E oil to cut
it with cannabis products, THC products, and they are vaping those.
That is left out of this legislation. So you can't go to the store and
get your snuff and chew that or whatever you do with it if it is
menthol, but you can still go to the pot store and get this. That makes
no sense to me.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
New York (Ms. Clarke), the vice chair of our committee.
Ms. CLARKE of New York. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me time to address this very important issue.
I rise today in the best interests of the American people, the
African American community, and my constituents.
I include in the Record this letter from the ACLU about the concerns
of H.R. 2339, Reversing the Youth and Tobacco Epidemic Act.
February 27, 2020.
Re Coalition Concerns with Blanket Prohibition on Menthol and
Other Flavored Tobacco within H.R. 2339, Reversing the
Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act.
Hon. Frank Pallone,
Chairman, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington,
DC.
The undersigned civil rights and civil liberties
organizations write to express concerns with a broad
prohibition on menthol and other flavored tobacco products
within H.R. 2339, the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic
Act of 2019. While this legislation is a well-intended effort
to address health issues associated with tobacco use among
youth, we have concerns that a blanket prohibition on menthol
and other flavored tobacco products, which will apply to
adults, will (1) disproportionately impact people and
communities of color; (2) trigger criminal penalties,
prioritizing criminalization over public health and harm
reduction; and (3) instigate unconstitutional policing and
other negative interactions with local law enforcement.
I. H.R. 2339 Disproportionately Impacts People and Communities of Color
Of adults, approximately 80 percent of Blacks and 35
percent of Latinx who choose to smoke prefer menthol
cigarettes. Thus, any ban on menthol cigarettes will
disproportionately affect people of color. While H.R. 2339
and similar legislation are often motivated by the desire to
decrease and eliminate smoking among certain populations,
Blacks and other people of color should not
disproportionately bear the brunt of enforcement of such
prohibitions, which a menthol ban would ensure.
Similarly, enforcement of a ban on flavored cigars will
also disproportionally impact people of color given cigar
preferences. Black adults are 60% of cigarillo and nonpremium
cigar smokers, with these products often flavored.
Additionally, at Committee markup, H.R. 2339 was amended to
exempt certain traditional, expensive cigars from a
prohibition of online tobacco sales. There is no
justification for differentiating a La Palina from a Black
and Mild. Making this
[[Page H1264]]
distinction undermines the public health arguments made for
this bill and suggests that some tobacco preferences, within
certain communities, will be prioritized and protected over
others.
II. H.R. 2339 Increases Criminal Penalties Over Public Health
H.R. 2339 prohibits menthol and other flavored tobacco
products under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).
This prohibition criminalizes the manufacturing, importing,
distributing, or selling of menthol and other flavored
tobacco products under the FD&C Act, imposing up to three
years of imprisonment. Violating a menthol and flavored
tobacco ban would implicate other federal criminal penalties
as well. For example, the Federal Cigarette Contraband
Trafficking Act would be implicated, allowing up to five
years of imprisonment.
With a criminal legal system that incarcerates Blacks at
nearly six times the rate of white Americans and a prison
population that is 67 percent Black and Latinx, any
prohibition on menthol and flavored tobacco products promises
continued overcriminalization and mass incarceration of
people of color. A ban on menthol and flavored tobacco
products could reintroduce many of the harms imposed by the
failed war on drugs as lawmakers work to legalize cannabis
and take a public health approach to opioids. A bill
criminalizing tobacco is contrary to those efforts. Righting
the wrongs of earlier failed drug policy requires
consideration of the unintended consequences of well-
intentioned policies, especially on the most vulnerable
communities. It also requires us to remember that harm
reduction, including education and counseling, are what work
to reduce usage and harm in our society, not prohibition.
III. H.R. 2339 Encourages Harmful Police Practices
Recent history shows us that drug prohibitions and bans
increase negative interactions between law enforcement and
people of color. The New York Police Department's (NYPD) stop
and frisk program resulted in nearly 700,000 stops in 2011,
with drugs serving as the alleged pretext for most of those
stops. Ninety percent of those stops were of Black and Latinx
people. We are concerned that law enforcement's attempts to
enforce a menthol and flavored tobacco ban will undoubtedly
lead to fines, arrests, and eventual incarceration for those
who continue to use and sell menthol and flavored tobacco
products. While the legislation was amended at Committee to
try to minimize law enforcement practices here, it only
applies in the context of federal enforcement of the FD&C
Act; it does not govern local enforcement around any state
and city prohibition policies that will follow.
The death of Eric Garner in 2014 generated national
attention not only for the brutality he experienced at the
hands of NYPD police, but for the reason that led to the
encounter with law enforcement. Mr. Garner died from an
illegal chokehold having been stopped by police for selling
single cigarettes in violation of state law. Gwendolyn Carr,
Eric Garner's mother, cautions: ``When you ban a product sold
mostly in Black communities, you must consider the reality of
what will happen to that very same overrepresented community
in the criminal justice system.'' With a federal prohibition
on menthol and flavored tobacco products, states will develop
their own prohibition and enforcement policies that could
result in harmful police practices like that witnessed with
Mr. Garner.
Based on our concerns, we urge you to not impose a blanket
ban on menthol and related tobacco products. A prohibition on
all menthol and flavored tobacco products will not achieve a
public heath goal of reducing smoking among Black people,
young people, or others. We hope we can work together to
avoid repetitions of policies that are intended to protect
youth and communities of color, but instead only further
engrain systemic criminalization and racism.
Sincerely,
American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Popular
Democracy, Drug Policy Alliance, Friends Committee on
National Legislation, Law Enforcement Action Partnership,
National Action Network, National Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers.
{time} 0930
Ms. CLARKE of New York. While it is indeed a health imperative to
reduce and eliminate the use of tobacco products in our society, I
would like to recognize the inequity, potential harm, and unintended
consequences of a ban on menthol combustible products within the
Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act.
This bill's purpose is to curb youth tobacco usage by banning
flavored tobacco products, more specifically ending the scourge of
youth vaping in our Nation and the flavored products used to attract
young people to its use.
However, this legislation has dire, unintended consequences for
African American users, the overwhelming majority of which are over the
age of 21.
It does not treat all flavored tobacco products equally, exempting
premium cigars preferred by White smokers, yet banning menthol
cigarettes. Menthol is the preferred flavor of African American tobacco
users, used by 90 percent of Black tobacco users.
While I would love to assume the best intentions of all parties of
this legislation and hope for the best in regard to law enforcement,
lived experiences demand caution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentlewoman.
Ms. CLARKE of New York. Madam Speaker, as a result of this asymmetric
ban, law enforcement would have an additional reason to stop and frisk
menthol tobacco users because menthol would be considered illegal under
this ban.
Having said that, I cannot support H.R. 2339 due to the potentially
dire consequences that would create additional stop and frisk
opportunities of African Americans and the constituents I took an oath
to protect.
I really believe that this is a health imperative, and if that is the
case, the ban should be on all tobacco products and would be the best
answer. Unfortunately, this bill does not do that.
Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague for her comments and putting
this letter into the Record. She is absolutely right, according to the
ACLU, the National Association of Social Workers, the Law Enforcement
Action Partnership. They say in this letter: ``Any ban on menthol
cigarettes will disproportionately affect people of color.''
They go on to talk about how other criminal laws will be affected
under this act, including those that could lead, their concern, to the
sort of stop and frisk that occurred in New York in the Eric Garner
case that they cite in this letter.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Flores).
Mr. FLORES. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Walden for yielding.
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 2339, a bill that
bans all flavors of all tobacco products while imposing a new excise
tax on vaping products.
Let me start by saying this: I don't smoke. I don't chew. I don't
vape. And I don't dip. But I do represent adult constituents who do.
Bills like this make it clear that House Democrats are more
interested in placing partisan politics over real solutions.
Since 2011, the share of high school students who say they have
smoked cigarettes recently has fallen from 16 percent to 6 percent.
More than 2.5 million U.S. adult smokers have quit smoking by switching
to e-cigarettes, and many rely on flavored e-liquids.
If flavored e-cigarettes are outright banned and e-cigarettes have
increased taxes, as this bill does, many of these ex-smokers will
return to traditional cigarettes while others will be forced into the
dangerous e-cigarette black market that this legislation creates.
Let's be clear: Science proves that e-cigarettes are safer than
traditional smoking.
Both Congress and President Trump have taken important steps to
address the youth vaping epidemic. Unfortunately, today's legislation
has nothing to do with the youth vaping epidemic and would instead
eliminate consumer choice for millions of law-abiding adults.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Minnesota (Ms. Craig).
Ms. CRAIG. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for his time and
especially for his leadership on this issue.
The tobacco industry has targeted our kids for too long, and we have
a moral responsibility to act. E-cigarette usage among middle and high
school students is a public health crisis. The industry's targeting of
our children has resulted in the highest rate of tobacco usage in 20
years as a new generation is addicted to nicotine.
It is all disguised by the 15,000 flavors, like mint, mango, and
cotton candy, developed to cover up the unpleasant harshness affiliated
with tobacco use.
This is absolutely unacceptable. As a mother, I have survived middle
school four times with four sons, and three have now finished high
school. I have
[[Page H1265]]
seen how rampant and widespread vaping has become in our Nation's
schools. Parents and schools need our help.
Madam Speaker, my colleagues and I must stand up to the industries
responsible for this epidemic. Public health--more importantly, our
children's health--depends on it.
Madam Speaker, I strongly support and urge my colleagues to support
this bill.
Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson), a distinguished member of the Energy
and Commerce Committee.
Mr. HUDSON. Madam Speaker, we have a crisis of youth vaping, and we
have seen a disturbing number of lung injuries and deaths tied to the
oil used in marijuana vaping, but this bill does nothing to impact
either. In fact, Republicans offered an amendment in committee to ban
flavored marijuana vaping, the root cause of lung injuries and deaths,
and every single Democrat voted ``no.''
The fact is, working with President Trump, this Congress has already
taken major bipartisan actions to combat the youth vaping epidemic. We
have already raised the age to purchase tobacco products to 21; the
President banned flavors in e-cigarettes; and the House passed
legislation to require an ID check at every tobacco point of sale.
Clearly, there is bipartisan support on this issue. Unfortunately,
this is not what we are voting on today.
The bill before us today is a partisan publicity stunt. This bill is
not about youth vaping. This bill is the worst example of Big Brother,
liberal elites telling the rest of us how to live our lives.
They say tobacco vaping, a safer alternative to smoking, is bad, but
marijuana vaping, the root cause of injury and death, is okay.
The $100 cigars that their liberal elite campaign donors smoke, those
are okay, but cheaper cigars and menthol cigarettes smoked by working
men and women in this country, those would be banned.
You can vape flavored marijuana in San Francisco, but they are going
to take away your flavored dip in Scranton.
Let's set aside this partisan overreach and continue to work together
to solve this crisis, to deal with the real root causes.
This is not a public health response to an epidemic. It is Big
Government, liberal elites telling adults what they can and cannot do.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), who chairs our Consumer Protection and
Commerce Subcommittee.
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.
This certainly is an issue of consumer protection.
I rise in support of this bill so that we can take action to end the
youth tobacco epidemic before it claims any more lives.
Prohibiting flavors that attract youngsters across the board, we need
to eliminate these flavors that are really the thing that attracts them
the most. We can take that step to ensure that more youth do not get
addicted to nicotine and tobacco.
In addition to fruity flavors, menthol plays a significant role in
attracting kids to cigarettes. By cooling and numbing the throat,
menthol makes it easier to hook kids on smoking. Over half of all youth
who smoke cigarettes smoke menthol cigarettes, compared to less than
one-third of adult smokers.
The NAACP, the National Medical Association, the Black Women's Health
Imperative, and many other organizations are supporting this
legislation and voicing their approval of the legislation.
There is no public health justification for removing menthol tobacco
products from the flavor prohibition in this bill.
Big Tobacco is trying to divert our attention from that by raising
questions of criminal justice that we have gone above and beyond to
protect against in this bill.
We don't want to create a whole new generation of people addicted to
nicotine; that is the intention of the tobacco industry.
Let's keep our focus and pass this legislation for our kids.
Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to point out again that if you want to do something about
kids, if you want to do something about lung disease, then we need to
do something about marijuana and the oils it gets mixed with that this
bill does not address.
These are literally named CannaKids--CannaKids, flavors. What does
this one say? Liquid Black Cherry, DOPE.
They voted that down when we tried to put this in the bill to ban it.
If you are going to ban something, let's ban something kids are using.
But, no, we let the marijuana products go forward.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr.
Allen).
Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, we all agree that the current youth vaping
trend is cause for concern, and we must evaluate strategies to prevent
young people from using e-cigarettes and tobacco products. But this
bill does nothing to address the youth vaping epidemic or the use of
illicit products that have been linked to the outbreak of lung
illnesses as just described by our ranking member.
That is why this body has taken steps to address this issue,
including passing legislation to raise the minimum age to buy tobacco
products from 18 to 21.
But the flavored tobacco ban and excise tax increase act is a
textbook example of Federal overreach. H.R. 2339 would instead ban all
flavors for all tobacco products and impose a new excise tax on
nicotine used in vaping.
I find it confusing that many of my colleagues who support banning
these tobacco products also support legalizing marijuana. Where is the
common sense in this House?
Instead of putting a partisan, overreaching bill on the floor,
Democrats should work with Republicans on bipartisan solutions that
actually address the youth vaping epidemic that we are going to talk
about here probably the entire time we are debating this issue.
Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I would inquire how much time is remaining
on each side.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) has
13 minutes remaining. The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) has
14 minutes remaining.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I want to say that Ms. Pelosi has been so
much out front on trying to move this bill and always thinks of herself
as a mom or, as she says, a grandmother first, and that is why she so
cares about the children.
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California
(Ms. Pelosi), our Speaker.
Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, for
his kind words about calling me a mom, as that is the greatest thrill
of my life, now grandmother as well.
I very much thank the chairman, Mr. Pallone, for his leadership in
bringing this legislation to the floor. It is so important for our
children.
Madam Speaker, to Mr. Richard Neal, I thank him for the role that the
Ways and Means Committee played in this as well. I want to acknowledge
and thank Mr. Tom Suozzi for the work that he did on the tax piece in
here, and also Donna Shalala, who knows so much about this subject in
so many capacities that she has served our government and our children,
as well as Karen Bass, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
When people ask me what are the three most important issues facing
Congress, now for 30 years or so in Congress, I have always said the
same thing: our children, our children, our children; their health;
their education; the economic security of their families; a safe, clean
environment in which they can thrive; a world at peace in which they
can reach their fulfillment.
{time} 0945
It is all about the children. It is all about their future.
Today, I rise to join my colleagues to take urgently needed action to
confront the growing youth tobacco crisis, which is, in the words of
the U.S. Surgeon General, an ``epidemic.''
This is legislation to protect our children, and I thank Mr. Pallone
and Mr. Neal for their leadership here.
[[Page H1266]]
Today, corporations are waging a brazen special interest campaign to
addict our children to e-cigarettes. Last year, more than 5 million
middle school and high school students were using e-cigarettes, up from
3.6 million just last year, and more than 3 million more than 2 years
ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Nearly 1 million
children are using e-cigarettes every day.
Earlier today, we all met Abby, a high school student from Kentucky,
and several other students, parents, and teachers who shared their
stories. Abby spoke about how she was just a freshman--she is 15 now,
but she was just a freshman when her friends offered her an e-cigarette
at her first high school football game.
She quickly became addicted and started spending birthday money and
babysitting cash to pay for e-cigarettes that older friends in high
school would buy. She tried to quit, but headaches and other painful
symptoms of withdrawal prevented her. Only when her supply was cut off
was she able to stop.
Abby said that she never would have tried a traditional cigarette,
which she and her peers considered ``harmful and disgusting,'' but they
just did not know the facts about e-cigarettes, which Big Tobacco had
designed to specifically target and addict millions of young people
like her.
Youth tobacco use is a serious public health crisis that is
endangering young people like Abby.
Today, I also met with the pediatrician Dr. Falusi, representing
67,000 pediatricians, members of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
This is what Dr. Falusi said: ``The teenage brain is still developing,
and symptoms of dependence can appear within days of first use. These
products quickly deliver high levels of nicotine, so addiction can
happen fast. Adolescents often have no idea how much nicotine they're
getting from each hit.
``In the short term, we've seen compromised lung function and asthma
exacerbations as well as seizures and respiratory distress, but we
still don't know the long-term health effects of e-cigarette use. That
should alarm us all.''
Dr. Falusi went on to say: ``Pediatricians have seen this addiction
in our own patients. We receive frantic calls from parents whose
children don't know how to stop using. We've even heard of teens who
sleep with the e-cigarette under their pillow at night because they''
want to use them as soon as they wake up to vape.
We also heard from our distinguished colleague, Mr. Ruiz, who will be
speaking--so I won't quote him--and Dr. Schrier, the Congresswoman from
Washington State, a pediatrician, speaking on this subject.
With this bill, we are protecting the health of millions of young
people who are at risk from Big Tobacco's deadly products.
Most importantly, this bill blocks the manufacture and sale of all
flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes. Studies
show that 7 out of 10 users of e-cigarettes do so because they come in
flavors like gummy bear and mango.
This ban also covers menthol cigarettes--which more than half of
youth smokers and 7 in 10 African American youth smokers smoke.
This bill, therefore, helps ensure justice and reduces health
disparities. The National Medical Association, the association for
African American doctors; NAACP; National Black Nurses Association;
African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council; Association of
Black Cardiologists; Black Women's Health Imperative; and many other
associations have put out this call for action from this Congress.
They said: ``Today, the tobacco industry is using e-cigarettes to
hook a new generation with flavors like bubble gum, mint, mango--and
menthol. It's a public health crisis affecting over 5.3 million kids.''
``Congress,'' it says, ``End the sale of all flavored tobacco
products, including menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigarettes.
Support H.R. 2339 to protect our kids.''
Again, that is from the NAACP, National Black Nurses Association,
National Medical Association, Black Women's Health Imperative,
Association of Black Cardiologists, and the African American Tobacco
Control Leadership Council.
Madam Speaker, they joined scores of other organizations who are
representing communities of color and otherwise.
I include in the Record a flyer from the Tobacco-Free Kids Action
Fund.
Big Tobacco Has No Problem Targeting African American Communities
but congress should have a problem with it
For decades, Big Tobacco has targeted African Americans
with menthol cigarettes, with devastating consequences.
Menthol cigarettes have addicted generations of African
Americans, resulting in high death rates from lung cancer,
heart disease, stroke and other smoking-related illnesses.
Seven out of ten African American youth smokers smoke
menthol, making them more likely to become addicted smokers.
Today, the tobacco industry is using e-cigarettes to hook a
new generation with flavors like bubble gum, mint, mango--and
menthol. It's a public health crisis affecting over 5.3
million kids.
Congress: End the sale of all flavored tobacco products,
including menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigarettes.
Support H.R. 2339 to protect out kids.
Paid for by Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund
Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, the bill protects our communities with
other strong steps, including prohibiting companies from marketing e-
cigarettes to youth under age 21. Ninety-five percent of adult smokers
start before age 21, and those who do not begin smoking by their early
twenties are unlikely to start.
Group after group is demanding action. More than 75 organizations--
from the American Academy of Pediatrics to the American Federation of
Teachers, to the National Association of School Nurses, to the Society
of Thoracic Surgeons--recently wrote: ``This legislation will address
the current youth e-cigarette epidemic that is undermining the progress
made in reducing youth tobacco use.''
We had all of the tobacco-free kids there lined up in their T-shirts.
These little children know better than some of us in this Chamber how
dangerous these e-cigarettes are to our young children, especially
those in middle school who are so very young and that we see evidence
of.
Now, let me just say, in our own community in San Francisco, Juul
came in with a proposal, and they were selling it as if this is the way
we are going to stop young children from smoking. We are going to have
them smoke e-cigarettes, and we are going to do this and that. It was a
total fraudulent campaign. Some of us just stepped forward and said:
This is wrong.
But I wish some of you could see the ads that they sent to our homes,
as if they were the saviors of children instead of the addictors of
children, putting them on a path to tobacco use.
So there is a lot of money involved here from the tobacco industry,
and we have to weigh the equities in favor of children and not in favor
of profits for the tobacco industry for a long time to come.
Madam Speaker, I urge our colleagues to vote for this legislation. We
cannot stand by while tobacco companies entice a new generation of
young people into a lifetime of nicotine addiction and preventable
death.
Congress must act for young people like Abby and millions of others
exposed to the scourge of tobacco. I urge a strong bipartisan vote. I
thank so many of our Members who have taken the lead on protecting our
children, our children, our children.
Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I just want to point out the administration, in their
opposition to this legislation, reminds us that, in January of 2020,
the administration issued guidance to prioritize enforcement against
the unauthorized marketing of certain vaping products to youth.
The FDA is conducting regular surveillance and, when appropriate,
taking enforcement measures against websites, social media, and other
publications that advertise regulated tobacco products.
And the Speaker knows, the President signed into law the ban against
these products being sold to anyone 21 and under. So we agree that it
is about the children. We believe Congress has acted in this measure.
This bill is about adults.
Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from North
Carolina (Ms. Foxx), the top Republican on the Education and Labor
Committee.
[[Page H1267]]
Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for
yielding.
Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2339. While I don't doubt
the majority's sincere interest in reducing nicotine use among minors,
this bill is a premature and poorly thought-out attempt to do so.
Instead of building on bipartisan efforts to address teenage smoking,
such as raising the age to purchase tobacco to 21, H.R. 2339 broadly
overreaches and contains provisions that would unacceptably restrict
the choice of adult consumers. It would have a negligible impact on
teenage tobacco use and, instead, could actually increase the use of
illicit and more dangerous tobacco products.
As my colleagues have pointed out this morning, most on the other
side of the aisle favor legalizing marijuana, which has proven to be
harmful and leads to worse drugs, but will vote for this bad bill. If
one is concerned about teenagers, don't push marijuana.
This bill does nothing to address the actual injuries we do see from
vaping products, which are typically associated with illegal THC vapor
products and not the products covered under H.R. 2339.
This is a bad bill, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Ruiz), a member of our committee.
Mr. RUIZ. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Madam Speaker, I am an emergency physician trained in humanitarian
disaster aid and a public health expert, and I represent California's
36th Congressional District.
As a doctor, I am all too familiar with the devastation that
addiction to nicotine can cause, devastation such as strokes, heart
attack, COPD, and patients coming in with 100 percent oxygen because
they can't breathe without it. I have seen, firsthand, the health
decline in patients who tried nicotine as teenagers, who got addicted
and never quit.
When we talk about vaping, we need to make sure we identify three
different problems:
One is the problem of the acute respiratory distress syndrome, that
caused by open containers where they can mix different types of
chemicals, including THC, that have the vitamin E oils that can cause
severe lung damage that requires lung transplant. That is one issue.
Another issue is whether or not there is a public benefit or whether
or not vaping is safe. It is not. That is a general conversation.
This bill addresses the third issue, which is that kids using these
products are getting addicted at an alarming rate. The number of kids
using these products is disturbing to me as a Member of Congress, as a
physician, and as a parent of two young kids.
From 2017 to 2019, e-cigarette use doubled among high school students
and tripled among middle school students. There are 5 million kids
using e-cigarettes today, an increase of 3 million in just 2 years, and
the health effects of these are real and dangerous.
Cigarettes, no doubt, are the deadliest form of tobacco. No tobacco
product, however, is safe. Vape aerosol contains some of the same
chemicals found in cigarette smoke: chromium, formaldehyde, lead,
nickel, and tin.
Nicotine use changes an adolescent's brain cell activity affecting
attention, learning, behavior, and memory function.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman from California an
additional 1 minute.
Mr. RUIZ. Madam Speaker, research shows that you are more likely to
start smoking cigarettes if you vape, and using nicotine at an early
age means you are more likely to be addicted for life.
So we need to address and pass H.R. 2339, the Protecting American
Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019, because it
will help us reach the objective of reducing the youth vaping epidemic.
This bill also contains my bill, the NO VAPE Act, which will crack
down on retailers who sell these products to underaged youth.
It is my job as a public health expert and it is our job as Members
of Congress to ensure measures are put in place to prevent more
Americans from getting hooked on nicotine at an early age. So I urge a
vote on H.R. 2339, Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth
Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019, for the sake of our children and our
public's health.
Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. Bishop).
Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman
for yielding.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 2339 will hurt farmers in North Carolina,
disrespect the free choice of Americans--especially African Americans--
and do nothing to advance public health.
The uncertainty this bill will create serves no legitimate purpose
and will hurt 1,300 hard-pressed, hardworking farmers all across North
Carolina.
Why are Democrats so dismissive of the interest of farmers and the
challenges they face?
Consider this: Nearly 30 percent of adult tobacco users report
flavored tobacco use.
{time} 1000
Almost nine in ten adult African American smokers choose menthol.
This bill would ban them all.
How can you not only dismiss but discriminate against their adult
choices?
Do you really expect that no black market will emerge to cater to
those choices?
Have you considered the harms that will result from that?
Kids shouldn't use tobacco, nor, in my opinion, should adults, but
more bureaucracy, trampling arbitrarily on adult free choice, and
destroying family farmers are nowhere close to the solution.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman
from California (Ms. Eshoo), who chairs our Health Subcommittee.
Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I thank the chair of our committee, and I
rise in support of this legislation that is so important for the next
generation of Americans, H.R. 2339.
Very sadly, there has been a reversal of our country's great progress
on tobacco use, and it is because of flavored products and a tobacco
industry that preys on our Nation's youth.
From 2017 to 2019 e-cigarette use more than doubled among high school
students and more than tripled among middle schoolers--even younger.
These are kids. They are not even young adults yet. By 2019, last year,
5.3 million middle and high school students were current users, already
using some type of tobacco product or e-cigarettes.
Over 80 percent of kids who have used tobacco started with a flavored
product. That is the hook. According to the surgeon general, they begin
using and become addicted to these products because e-cigarette
manufacturers have targeted extensive advertising campaigns to kids and
to young adults. So this didn't just come out of the ether. This is
very purposeful. It is directed, and it is targeted to middle schoolers
and high schoolers.
Last year Congress raised the legal age to purchase tobacco to 21,
but in January the President walked back his promise to address the
youth tobacco epidemic by taking only some flavored e-cigarette
products off the market. But as we heard from witnesses during our
subcommittee hearing last October, those actions are not enough.
The single most important action to reduce youth e-cigarette use is
to crack down on the flavors because that is what addicts our kids. If
any flavored products are still available, kids are going to find a way
to get them. All flavors must be removed from the market including
menthol, because this, again, is what hooks kids on smoking, and this
legislation addresses that.
We also have to address how tobacco companies target their
advertisements to our kids. This bill ensures that e-cigarettes have
the same strict marketing prohibitions as other tobacco products.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from California
an additional 30 seconds.
Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I think it is eminently clear that Congress
must pass strong legislation to reduce the attractiveness and
availability of flavored tobacco products to adolescents and teens to
save this generation
[[Page H1268]]
from lifetime addiction. There are costs to addiction, and our
healthcare system has to absorb that.
So why not prevent it and stop it in its tracks today?
That is why I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 2339 to accomplish
all of this.
Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to the time available on
both sides.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Oregon has 9\1/2\ minutes
remaining. The gentleman from New Jersey has 7 minutes remaining.
Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Kentucky (Mr. Comer).
Mr. COMER. Madam Speaker, few would deny that we are facing a
dangerous epidemic of youth vaping.
But the bill before us today is not about youth vaping. Instead, this
legislation seeks to eliminate consumer choice of flavored tobacco
products for law-abiding adults over the age of 21.
With this bill Democrats are seeking to play politics with a crisis
and ram through an extreme, partisan measure that is government
overreach at its finest.
We should be focused on reducing youth consumption and removing
counterfeit products from the market. That is what this debate should
focus on, not reducing the freedoms of law-abiding adults.
Unfortunately, Democrats are making clear that they are uninterested in
further action to reduce youth tobacco use. By banning flavored tobacco
products and the sale of menthol cigarettes for adults, they are
seeking to destroy consumer freedom in this country.
Thankfully, if this bill were to pass today, this anti-consumer
choice overreach will be stopped in its tracks in the Senate.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Rush), who is the chairman of our Energy Subcommittee.
Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding.
Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise today in support of H.R. 2339, the
Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act.
This bill would ban menthol products which are primarily used because
of decades of predatory advertising by tobacco companies in the African
American community and on the African American community, particularly,
Madam Speaker, African American males, the so-called Kool generation,
spelled with a K and not a C.
Smoking cigarettes, especially menthol-flavored cigarettes, has
resulted in approximately 45,000 African American deaths each and every
year. Lung cancer, COPD, and heart disease are the leading preventable
causes of death for African Americans. Smoking menthol-flavored
cigarettes is the primary culprit.
Earlier this week, Madam Speaker, I wrote an op-ed with Nancy Brown,
the CEO of the American Heart Association, on the importance of this
bill and the ban on menthol flavoring for our kids' health. I am
pleased to report that our op-ed was published in The Hill on last
Wednesday.
Madam Speaker, I include in the Record my op-ed.
[From The Hill, Feb. 26, 2020]
No Exceptions When It Comes To Kids' Health
(By Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) and Nancy Brown)
Imagine a world in which our children are not using tobacco
or addicted to nicotine--a world in which tobacco products
that appeal to youth cannot be sold, the tobacco industry is
prohibited from preying upon youth with their deceptive
marketing, and tobacco no longer represents a grave health
threat to children.
With tobacco and nicotine use among youth at epidemic
levels in this country, we must address this public health
crisis. The House of Representatives has an historic
opportunity to do just that this week by passing the
Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act, a bill that takes
bold action to remove all flavored e-cigarettes and other
tobacco products, including menthol, from the market.
Until recently, the goal of a tobacco- and nicotine-free
generation seemed within reach. Youth smoking rates, which
were at 28 percent in 1997, fell to just 5 percent in 2018.
But this hard-fought public health success against youth
tobacco use is threatened by the skyrocketing popularity of
e-cigarettes. More than 1 in 4 high-school students and more
than 5 million youth nationwide now report using e-
cigarettes, which pose serious health risks to users and
could increase the likelihood of traditional cigarette use.
An American Heart Association study released last year found
that kids who use e-cigarettes are more likely to start
smoking traditional cigarettes.
The reasons for this surge in youth e-cigarette use is
clear. Tobacco companies introduced thousands of products
with fruit, candy, mint, and menthol flavors specifically
intended to appeal to youth. The companies then designed
sophisticated and well-funded marketing campaigns that
relentlessly target youth on social media. While the Trump
administration pledged last fall to halt the sale of all
flavored e-cigarettes, the policy it released last month fell
far short of that goal. Urgent action is still needed to stem
the youth e-cigarette epidemic given menthol products,
disposable e-cigarettes, and flavored liquid nicotine used in
open tank systems are being allowed to remain on the market.
Congress took an important first step in December by
raising the national minimum legal sales age for tobacco
products from 18 to 21. But we know that just raising the
sales age for these products is not enough to counteract the
actions of an industry intent on addicting another generation
of youth. The industry has known for decades that cigarettes
and other tobacco products flavored with menthol are less
harsh and more appealing to users--especially youth smokers.
Tobacco companies have been especially aggressive with retail
advertising and price promotions for menthol products in
minority communities. As a result, more than 70 percent of
adolescent African-American smokers and more than half of
adolescent Latino smokers use menthol.
Where existing policies have fallen short, the Reversing
the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act will fill the gaps. The
bipartisan legislation, first introduced by Reps. Frank
Pallone (D-N.J.) and Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), will remove all
flavored tobacco products from the market within a year and
subject all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to the
same advertising restrictions that currently apply to
cigarettes. It will also require e-cigarette companies to
stop selling any flavored product without pre-market
authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
within 30 days. Additionally, the bill directs the FDA to
prohibit online sales of most tobacco products, cutting off a
way many youth access these products.
We are at a pivotal moment in the fight to protect our
children from tobacco-caused addiction and disease. We urge
lawmakers to listen to and stand with parents and health
advocates to support this important legislation.
Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in
supporting this very, very worthwhile legislation.
Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Illinois (Ms. Kelly), who is a member of our committee.
Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Madam Speaker, as chair of the Congressional
Black Caucus Health Braintrust, I rise to express my support for H.R.
2339, the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco
Epidemic Act of 2019.
This critical legislation will protect young people, especially young
people of color, from a lifetime of nicotine addiction. Simply put,
prohibiting menthol and other flavored tobacco products will save
lives, especially Black lives.
Opponents of the legislation assert that because 85 percent of the
African American smokers use menthol products that it would
disproportionately harm communities of color. This logic only
perpetuates the cycle in which many members of the African American
community are already trapped. Tobacco companies specifically marketed
menthol cigarettes to Black communities because they are more
addictive. Opposing this bill only continues this shameful past.
We must pass H.R. 2339 and ensure the tobacco industry can no longer
target minority communities to the detriment of public health.
Mr. WALDEN. I continue to reserve the balance of my time, Madam
Speaker.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, today we finally
comprehensively address America's resurgent youth nicotine epidemic.
In 2019 more than 5.3 million middle and high school students used e-
cigarettes, double the number who reported vaping just 2 years before.
It is no surprise when flavors like gummy bear and cotton candy are
used to lure children to e-cigarettes. And the aggressive digital
marketing aimed at minors, like the campaigns Juul admitted to running,
obviously work.
[[Page H1269]]
But this Republican administration failed to holistically address
this issue. Worse, they caved to Big Tobacco by embracing a woefully
inadequate flavor ban. So this bill does just what this administration
refused to; it bans flavors and proactively combats this epidemic.
I am grateful to Chairman Pallone for including language from my
legislation, the PROTECT Act, that directs the CDC to implement a
successful--like the anti-tobacco youth campaign was--youth anti-vaping
education and prevention campaign. That is vital because if a child
never starts vaping, we keep them off this perilous path to nicotine
addiction.
Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill to stand up to Big
Tobacco and to protect the health of young people.
Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I just want to follow up on my friend from Florida's comments. Let me
remind the body that it was the Obama administration that failed to
take enforcement action against e-cigarette manufacturers while these
products grew in popularity among our children.
In contrast, it is the Trump administration that is actually taking
significant action to curb youth use of tobacco and e-cigarettes. The
Food and Drug Administration under President Trump has already removed
most flavored e-cigarettes from the market and stated they will take
additional action against any products found to be targeting children.
My friends will say the administration left open a giant loophole by
not targeting all these cigarette products. I reiterate: FDA has stated
they will ``take action against any product, regardless of whether a
product is cartridge-based, disposable, or flavored, if it is targeted
to minors, its marketing is likely to promote youth use, or if the
manufacturer has failed to take, or is failing to take, adequate
measures to prevent minors' access.''
The FDA has that authority to regulate e-cigarettes. It has taken
action to remove those products that are targeted to kids from the
market. In addition, any product wishing to come back on the market
will need to receive marketing authorization from the FDA beginning
later this year making the actions of this bill actually unnecessary.
But remember this bill deals with adults because we already, in a
bipartisan way, passed a law to prohibit these products from being sold
to people under 21 years of age. That was a huge problem. There was a
big loophole. As I said, the Obama administration let all this unfold
before their eyes.
We passed a bill. It is now law. Nobody under 21 has access to these
products.
Madam Speaker, the bill doesn't address this issue; this is literally
called CannaKids. This is literally DOPE e-Liquid, Black Cherry.
Marijuana-flavored vaping products are not covered under this
legislation.
But this legislation goes so far as to take legal products that
adults may use--I don't use any of this stuff. I am not a big fan of it
at all. But they have their choice. These are adult products. Adults
will no longer have access to these products. They are gone. They are
banned under this bill.
Madam Speaker, you are going to set up a whole new criminal
enforcement effort that some, including the ACLU, believe will target
people of color more than others.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, may I inquire about the amount of time
remaining on both sides.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Pingree). The gentleman from New Jersey
has 3 minutes remaining. The gentleman from Oregon has 5\1/2\ minutes
remaining.
{time} 1015
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I am not here to target people of
color. I am here to save lives.
I support this legislation because it closes an effective tax
loophole for e-cigarettes and taxes them just accordingly as tobacco.
It prohibits the manufacture of flavored tobacco and, more
importantly, actually prohibits companies from marketing or promoting
e-cigarettes to youth under the age of 21. That is an important
element.
It makes sure that the grants that are gotten from those dollars are
utilized for outreach and education, for evidence-based smoking-
cessation programs. It awards grants to make tobacco-cessation
therapies and counseling available to community health centers.
We have to save lives. People of color die disproportionately through
tobacco products, including these flavored cigarettes.
The NAACP says flavored cigarettes, e-cigarettes, have driven the
youth epidemic and more than half of youth smokers. Organizations like
the National Black Nurses Association, African American Tobacco Control
Leadership Council, Black Women's Health Imperative, and National
Hispanic Medical Association all support this.
Madam Speaker, I am here to save lives. That is why I am supporting
this legislation.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2339, the ``Protecting
American Lungs and Reversing Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act.''
I support this important lifesaving and life-extending legislation
because it:
1. Closes a tax loophole for e-cigarettes by establishing tax parity
with current tobacco taxes, which is a highly effective way to reduce
youth smoking.
2. Prohibits the manufacture and sale of all flavored tobacco
products, including menthol cigarettes, within one year, and removes
all flavored e-cigarettes from the market within 30 days.
3. Prohibits companies from marketing or promoting e-cigarettes to
youth under age 21.
4. Directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prohibit non-
face-to-face (online) sales of most tobacco products, including e-
cigarettes, thereby blocking a key path for high schoolers to obtain
tobacco products, many of which are sold online with limited or no age
verification requirements.
5. Provides FDA with the authority to collect user fees from all
classes of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, and increases the
annual user fees collected for tobacco products by $100 million.
6. Requires the Federal Trade Commission to issue an annual report to
Congress on the domestic sales, advertising, and promotional activities
of cigarette, cigar, smokeless tobacco, and e-cigarette manufacturers.
7. Invests in grants for outreach and education for evidence-based
smoking cessation programs for individuals in medically underserved
communities, including racial and ethnic minorities.
8. Awards grants to make tobacco cessation therapies and counseling
available at Community Health Centers.
This critical legislation provides a comprehensive approach to
address the youth tobacco epidemic, which has surged in recent years
with the introduction of such new tobacco products as e-cigarettes.
I support H.R. 2339 because it will help prevent the loss of an
entirely new generation to a lifetime of nicotine addiction.
Madam Speaker, one of the most effective ways to reduce youth use of
a tobacco product is to increase taxes on that product.
This legislation closes the tax loophole for e-cigarettes by
establishing tax parity with current tobacco taxes--significantly
increasing the cost of e-cigarettes.
Currently, there is no federal excise tax on the nicotine contained
in e-cigarettes, which could result, for example, in up to a 75 percent
increase in the cost of some brands of e-cigarettes.
As the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids points out, ``The Surgeon
General has called raising prices on cigarettes `one of the most
effective tobacco control interventions.'
The tobacco industry has targeted kids through social media
advertisements, glossy marketing campaigns, and other kid-friendly
platforms.
Banning the marketing and promotion of e-cigarettes to young people
will have a salutary effect because about 95 percent of adult smokers
start before age 21 and young people who do not begin smoking by their
early 20s are unlikely to ever start.
The legislation also includes numerous other provisions to address
the youth tobacco epidemic, including prohibiting the manufacturer and
sale of all flavored tobacco products, prohibiting companies from
marketing or promoting e-cigarettes to youth under age 21, and
directing the FDA to prohibit non-face-to-face (online) sales of most
tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.
Madam Speaker, it is gratifying to know that this legislation is
supported by nearly 100 groups, including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free
Kids, American Lung Association, American Heart Association, American
Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Academy of Pediatrics,
African American Tobacco
[[Page H1270]]
Control Leadership Council, Black Women's Health Imperative, National
Black Nurses Association, National Hispanic Medical Association,
Catholic Health Association of the United States, American Public
Health Association, National Education Association, Parents Against
Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe), First Focus, Children's Defense Fund, and
American College of Physicians.
In support this legislation, the NAACP, the nation's oldest civil
rights organization, has stated that: ``Flavored e-cigarettes have
driven the youth epidemic, and more than half of youth smokers--
including seven out of ten African American youth smokers--smoke
menthol cigarettes, so it's time to take these products off the market
once and for all.''
Madam Speaker, over the last few years, the use of e-cigarettes has
skyrocketed among American middle school and high school students.
More than 5.3 million middle school and high school students used e-
cigarettes in 2019, an alarming increase of more than 3 million in two
years.
The recent dramatic rise in the number of middle and high school
students using e-cigarettes has reversed the progress that had been
made in previous years in the use of tobacco by kids and teenagers.
The U.S. Surgeon General has labeled the skyrocketing growth in youth
use of e-cigarettes an ``epidemic.''
The Surgeon General has also concluded that youth use of nicotine in
any form, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe, causes addiction, and can
harm brain development, which impacts attention, memory, and learning.
The Surgeon General also found that using nicotine in adolescence
increases the risk of future addiction to other drugs.
E-cigarettes have very high levels of nicotine, placing young people
at significant risk for developing nicotine addiction.
Studies have shown that one brand of e-cigarette cartridge can
contain as much nicotine as a full pack of traditional cigarettes.
In 2009, Congress enacted a federal law prohibiting the manufacture
and sale of traditional cigarettes that had flavors (other than the
flavors of menthol or tobacco), since the tobacco industry had begun
targeting young people by offering flavored cigarettes, including candy
and fruit flavors.
However, that 2009 flavor prohibition has not applied to tobacco
products other than traditional cigarettes.
Now, the legislation being considered this week would broaden that
2009 prohibition--blocking the manufacture and sale of all flavored
tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and menthol cigarettes.
In recent years, tobacco companies have significantly stepped up the
introduction and marketing of flavored tobacco products, especially e-
cigarettes, with more than 15,000 flavors now available on the market.
The widespread availability and appeal of kid-friendly flavors has
significantly contributed to the rapid rise in e-cigarette use by young
people--with the tobacco industry targeting and addicting kids with
enticing flavors such as gummy bear and cotton candy.
Flavors mask the harsh taste of tobacco and make it easier for kids
to start to use a tobacco product and to become addicted.
More than 9 out 10 young persons using e-cigarettes use flavored the
e-cigarettes, with 7 out of 10 current youth e-cigarette users saying
they used them ``because they come in flavors I like.''
The bill's prohibition on menthol cigarettes will also help protect
kids.
More than half of youth smokers--and seven in ten African American
youth smokers--smoke menthol cigarettes.
A 2013 FDA analysis concluded that menthol cigarettes soothe the
harshness of tobacco, increase youth initiation, increase nicotine
addiction, and make it harder for smokers to quit.
Madam Speaker, the National Medical Association, the voice of
America's African American physicians, supports this legislation,
stating:
As the collective voice of African American physicians, we
know that banning menthol cigarettes will save lives in our
community. Smoking-related illnesses are the number one cause
of death in the African American community and approximately
45,000 African Americans die each year from smoking-related
diseases. Further, more than 85 percent of African American
smokers use menthols cigarettes. . . . For years, the tobacco
industry has aggressively promoted menthol cigarettes and
other flavored tobacco products in African American
communities. Taking action to ban menthol cigarettes is long
overdue and the NMA requests that Congress move swiftly to
take up this bill and save lives.
Madam Speaker, I do not agree with opponents of the legislation who
assert that because 85% of African American smokers use menthol
products, that it would disproportionally harm communities of color.
H.R. 2339 is not intended to disproportionately impact people and
communities of color; instead it treats all tobacco products the same
by prohibiting flavoring in all tobacco products.
Further, the legislation prohibits the sale, but not the possession,
of the banned products and expressly prohibits law enforcement from
using abusive practices, such as stop and frisk, to enforce the ban.
In 2009, President Obama signed into law the Family Smoking
Prevention and Tobacco Control Act which prohibited all flavored
cigarettes, other than menthol, after the tobacco industry used these
products to target kids.
H.R. 2339 merely extends the same enforcement authorities enacted
under the Tobacco Control Act to prohibit all flavored tobacco products
and ensure that the tobacco industry is no longer manufacturing or
importing any flavored products.
Finally, instead of imposing criminal penalties, should the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration find a manufacturer or retailer in violation of
the law, the FDA most commonly utilizes warning letters, no-tobacco
sale orders, and civil monetary penalties.
Thus, it is simply untrue that H.R. 2339 increases criminal penalties
or ``criminalizes tobacco.''
Before concluding, it is noteworthy that H.R. 2339 makes critical
investments to medically underserved communities to enhance smoking
cessation, particularly among racial and ethnic minority populations.
In order to ensure there are necessary resources for current smokers
to quit and transition off flavored tobacco products, the bill provides
significant resources to Community Health Centers to provide for the
availability of counseling and tobacco cessation therapies, as well as
other grant programs to enhance the availability of smoking cessation,
in particular for menthol products, in medically underserved
communities.
In sum, H.R. 2339 will help ensure the tobacco industry can no longer
target minority communities to the detriment of public health.
I strongly support this legislation and urge all Members to join me
in voting for its passage.
Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close the Committee on
Energy and Commerce's portion, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I think we have had a good debate here
today, and we understand the differences between the proponents and
opponents. I want to close with a couple of comments.
Marijuana and THC-laced products are illegal at the Federal level
under the Controlled Substances Act. Nobody disputes that. Yet, we have
seen how easy it is for individuals, including children, to get their
hands on these products.
They are marketed all over the internet in kid-friendly flavors. Not
only are these illegal products easy to access, but they caused an
outbreak of serious illnesses known as e-cigarette, or vaping, product
use-associated lung injury--it is known as EVALI--and resulted in the
deaths of 68 Americans. Centers for Disease Control confirmed this
outbreak was linked to vitamin E acetate used in THC-containing e-
cigarettes.
The point is, though, as more people are pushed away from flavored
tobacco products that are currently legal--again, we already made all
this illegal for anybody under 21, so we are talking about adults
here--they will start pushing products through illicit markets.
We all hope that in the face of the tobacco prohibition, tobacco
users would simply quit using these products, but the fact is, these
products are addictive. They are designed so users cannot simply quit.
Without accounting for this reality, this legislation will simply
push individuals to more dangerous and unregulated products. Illicit
markets are already thriving, as is evidenced by the cannabis
marketplace and the existing illicit tobacco trade.
Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the National
Association of Black Law Enforcement Executives. They say:
Organized criminal groups are already increasingly active
in selling illicit cigarettes from low tax states to high tax
states. A new market--menthol cigarettes--will only fuel
those criminal enterprises and everything that comes with
them from money laundering of shell companies that are
funding gang and terrorist activities.
[[Page H1271]]
National Organization of
Black Law Enforcement Executives,
Alexandria, VA, June 11, 2019.
Re H.R. 2339: Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic of 2019,
Bill introduced by: U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone.
Hon. Frank Pallone,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Moore: The National Organization of
Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) serves as the
conscience of law enforcement in America by being committed
to Justice by Action. Founded in 1976, NOBLE is committed to
ensure equity in the administration of justice and its
unyielding commitment is to work toward the elimination of
racism and bias of any type within the law enforcement field.
NOBLE has nearly 60 chapters and represents over 3,000
members worldwide that represent chief executive officers and
command-level law enforcement officials from federal, state,
county, municipal law enforcement agencies, and criminal
justice practitioners.
As an organization, NOBLE has no stance on the scientific
and medical issues regarding the impact of the use of menthol
cigarettes aside from saying that we believe any governmental
decision--especially one that could ban a previously legal
product--should be rooted on rigorous science.
Historically, NOBLE has expressed concerns over the ban of
menthol cigarettes for adults due to the unintended
consequences that occur when said products are made available
through a illicit market. The result can be the increased
encounters between the consumer (in this case African
Americans) and law enforcement officials who are enforcing
the ban.
NOBLE applauds the legislation to increase the minimum age
to consume tobacco products from 18 to 21. We currently are
launching a program aimed at educating and informing young
people to the dangers of consuming tobacco products and their
derivatives. However, we are concerned over the inclusion of
menthol flavored products in H.R. 2339 that may encourage a
ban of these products in the adult market. Research data
shows that menthol cigarettes constitute one-third of the
U.S. market and is the preferred cigarette of more than 80%
of African Americans who choose to smoke. Our goal is to
reduce policies and legislative actions that may increase
unintended enforcement interaction between police and people
of color.
Organized criminal groups are already increasingly active
in selling illicit cigarettes from low tax states to high tax
states. A new market--menthol cigarettes--will only fuel
those criminal enterprises and everything that comes with
them from money laundering or shell companies that funding
gang and terrorist activities. A ban on menthol cigarettes
would be exploited by criminal organizations to finance their
activities.
We urge you to consider the real-world evidence of the
ramifications of the unintended consequences of a ban on the
sale of menthol cigarettes and the disproportionate impact of
a menthol ban in African American communities.
Given all of these concerns, NOBLE respectfully requests
that this legislation remove menthol from the list of flavors
being considered for a ban on retail sales.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Vera Bumpers,
National President.
Mr. WALDEN. Those aren't my words. Those are the words of the
National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, which
opposes this legislation.
This bill is making an additional set of products illegal that will
further encourage illegal behavior that is already occurring and
difficult to combat.
Madam Speaker, where does this stop? We are all for stopping children
from having access to these products. We did that with T21. It is now
law. We have legislation--bipartisanly passed in the House, pending in
the Senate--to require age verification at point of sale and delivery
of tobacco products so that we really get boundaries around these
products getting into the hands of youth.
But if you are going to ban flavored tobacco products but not
flavored marijuana products, are you going to ban flavored alcohol
products?
We know childhood obesity is an epidemic. Are we going to go down
that path as well and ban products adults use but tell kids they can't
have a candy bar?
I mean, where does this end?
I led an effort when I was student body president in high school to
get smoking out of the bathrooms. I went to the school board, and we
actually created a smoking area outside that required parental
permission, a permit, and a fee. That was the 1970s. It was an amazing,
revolutionary thing. Thankfully, a few years later, they got rid of the
whole thing, but I got tired of using the bathroom only to find my
friends smoking in there and lighting fires in the trash cans.
I have been an advocate for getting smoking and smoking products away
from kids my entire life. That is why I supported T21 to ban the sale
of tobacco products to anybody under 21, the age verification issue,
and all that. But we are talking here about now telling adults in
America that you can no longer have access to these legal products.
Now, I am not a fan of these legal products. Don't get me wrong. But
I represent people who do use them, and I am going to go home, and they
are going say: ``What do you mean you took away my Grizzly or Kodiak or
Snuffs?'' I don't even know what you do with those products, but we are
going to take them away. We are going to ban them for good under your
law, and we are going to have our law enforcement go enforce that.
Now, they will tell you that it is just the FDA, but what they won't
tell you is, in the bill, it only relates to the FDA, but there are
criminal penalties in this bill. It probably should have gone to the
Committee on the Judiciary.
There are other laws on the books that law enforcement can enforce,
and that is why the ACLU and others sent us this letter concerned about
the stop and frisk tactics. Remember, Eric Garner was selling illegal
cigarettes on the streets, individual cigarettes. That is what led to
the law enforcement action that tragically ended up in his death with
the illegal choke hold.
They reference all that in their letter in opposition to this
legislation. We are not making this up on our side. It is all right
here.
I include in the Record this letter, along with a Statement of
Administration Policy in opposition to H.R. 2339.
Monday, February 24, 2020.
Re Coalition Concerns with Blanket Prohibition on Menthol and
Other Flavored Tobacco within H.R. 2339, Reversing the
Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act.
Hon. Frank Pallone,
Chairman, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington,
DC.
The undersigned civil rights and civil liberties
organizations write to express concerns with a broad
prohibition on menthol and other flavored tobacco products
within H.R. 2339, the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic
Act of 2019. While this legislation is a well-intended effort
to address health issues associated with tobacco use among
youth, we have concerns that a blanket prohibition on menthol
and other flavored tobacco products, which will apply to
adults, will (1) disproportionately impact people and
communities of color; (2) trigger criminal penalties,
prioritizing criminalization over public health and harm
reduction; and (3) instigate unconstitutional policing and
other negative interactions with local law enforcement.
I. H.R. 2339 Disproportionately Impacts People and Communities of Color
Of adults, approximately 80 percent of Blacks and 35
percent of Latinx who choose to smoke prefer menthol
cigarettes. Thus, any ban on menthol cigarettes will
disproportionately affect people of color. While H.R. 2339
and similar legislation are often motivated by the desire to
decrease and eliminate smoking among certain populations,
Blacks and other people of color should not
disproportionately bear the brunt of enforcement of such
prohibitions, which a menthol ban would ensure.
Similarly, enforcement of a ban on flavored cigars will
also disproportionally impact people of color given cigar
preferences. Black adults are 60% of cigarillo and non-
premium cigar smokers, with these products often flavored.
Additionally, at Committee markup, H.R. 2339 was amended to
exempt certain traditional, expensive cigars from a
prohibition of online tobacco sales. There is no
justification for differentiating a La Palina from a Black
and Mild. Making this distinction undermines the public
health arguments made for this bill and suggests that some
tobacco preferences, within certain communities, will be
prioritized and protected over others.
II. H.R. 2339 Increases Criminal Penalties Over Public Health
H.R. 2339 prohibits menthol and other flavored tobacco
products under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).
This prohibition criminalizes the manufacturing, importing,
distributing, or selling of menthol and other flavored
tobacco products under the FD&C Act, imposing up to three
years of imprisonment. Violating a menthol and flavored
tobacco ban would implicate other federal criminal penalties
as well. For example, the Federal Cigarette Contraband
Trafficking Act would be implicated, allowing up to five
years of imprisonment.
With a criminal legal system that incarcerates Blacks at
nearly six times the rate of white Americans and a prison
population that is 67 percent Black and Latinx, any
prohibition on menthol and flavored tobacco products promises
continued over-criminalization and mass incarceration of
people of color. A ban on menthol and flavored tobacco
products could reintroduce many of
[[Page H1272]]
the harms imposed by the failed war on drugs as lawmakers
work to legalize cannabis and take a public health approach
to opioids. A bill criminalizing tobacco is contrary to those
efforts. Righting the wrongs of earlier failed drug policy
requires consideration of the unintended consequences of
well-intentioned policies, especially on the most vulnerable
communities. It also requires us to remember that harm
reduction, including education and counseling, are what work
to reduce usage and harm in our society, not prohibition.
III. H.R. 2339 Encourages Harmful Police Practices
Recent history shows us that drug prohibitions and bans
increase negative interactions between law enforcement and
people of color. The New York Police Department's (NYPD) stop
and frisk program resulted in nearly 700,000 stops in 2011,
with drugs serving as the alleged pretext for most of those
stops. Ninety percent of those stops were of Black and Latinx
people. We are concerned that law enforcement's attempts to
enforce a menthol and flavored tobacco ban will undoubtedly
lead to fines, arrests, and eventual incarceration for those
who continue to use and sell menthol and flavored tobacco
products. While the legislation was amended at Committee to
try to minimize law enforcement practices here, it only
applies in the context of federal enforcement of the FD&C
Act; it does not govern local enforcement around any state
and city prohibition policies that will follow.
The death of Eric Garner in 2014 generated national
attention not only for the brutality he experienced at the
hands of NYPD police, but for the reason that led to the
encounter with law enforcement. Mr. Garner died from an
illegal chokehold having been stopped by police for selling
single cigarettes in violation of state law. Gwendolyn Carr,
Eric Garner's mother, cautions: ``When you ban a product sold
mostly in Black communities, you must consider the reality of
what will happen to that very same overrepresented community
in the criminal justice system.'' With a federal prohibition
on menthol and flavored tobacco products, states will develop
their own prohibition and enforcement policies that could
result in harmful police practices like that witnessed with
Mr. Garner.
Based on our concerns, we urge you to not impose a blanket
ban on menthol and related tobacco products. A prohibition on
all menthol and flavored tobacco products will not achieve a
public heath goal of reducing smoking among Black people,
young people, or others. We hope we can work together to
avoid repetitions of policies that are intended to protect
youth and communities of color, but instead only further
engrain systemic criminalization and racism.
Sincerely,
American Civil Liberties Union, Drug Policy Alliance, Law
Enforcement Action Partnership, National Action Network,
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National
Association of Social Workers, The Center for Popular
Democracy.
____
Statement of Administration Policy
H.R. 2339--Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019
(Rep. Pallone, D-NJ, and 126 cosponsors)
The Administration opposes H.R. 2339. The Administration is
encouraged by legislative efforts to protect American youth
from the harms of addiction and unsafe tobacco products, and
it also acknowledges that H.R. 2339 exempts premium cigars,
which have comparatively lower youth usage rates, from
certain regulatory burdens. Unfortunately, however, this bill
contains provisions that are unsupported by the available
evidence regarding harm reduction and American tobacco use
habits and another provision that raises constitutional
concerns. Accordingly, the Administration cannot support H.R.
2339 in its current form.
The Administration cannot support H.R. 2339's
counterproductive efforts to restrict access to products that
may provide a less harmful alternative to millions of adults
who smoke combustible cigarettes. This includes the bill's
prohibition of menthol e-liquids, which available evidence
indicates are used relatively rarely by youth. It also
includes the bill's approach to remote retail sales. At this
time, problems surrounding such sales should be addressed
through the application of age verification technologies
rather than, as this bill would do, prohibiting such sales
entirely.
The Administration is also concerned about the
constitutionality of a provision in the bill that prohibits
certain advertising practices with respect to electronic
nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products. The bill would
prohibit marketing and advertising that ``appeals to an
individual under 21 years of age.'' This standard may not
satisfy the stringent vagueness test applied to regulations
of speech under the Constitution's Due Process Clause.
The Administration is committed to protecting the Nation's
youth from the harms of tobacco and has already taken several
steps to do so. This includes signing legislation to raise
the minimum age of sale for tobacco products to 21. In
January 2020, moreover, the Administration issued guidance to
prioritize enforcement against the unauthorized marketing of
certain ENDS products to youth. And the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) is conducting regular surveillance of--
and, when appropriate, taking enforcement measures against--
websites, social media, and other publications that advertise
regulated tobacco products.
The bill takes the wrong approach to tobacco regulation.
Rather than continuing to focus on the FDA's Center for
Tobacco Products, Congress should implement President Trump's
Budget proposal to create a new, more directly accountable
agency within the Department of Health and Human Services to
focus on tobacco regulation. This new agency would be led by
a Senate-confirmed Director and would have greater capacity
to respond to the growing complexity of tobacco products and
respond effectively to tobacco-related public health
concerns.
If presented to the President in its current form, the
President's senior advisors would recommend that he veto the
bill.
Mr. WALDEN. Meanwhile, marijuana products are not covered by the
bill. Go figure. I urge my colleagues to vote against this legislation.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I respect the ranking member, but I have to say this:
The notion that somehow the Trump administration is doing anything
significant to deal with this youth vaping epidemic or tobacco epidemic
is simply not the case. They are weak-kneed proposals that are not
going to do anything significant.
The problem that we have and what this bill is trying to address is
this: The tobacco companies know that vaping or e-cigarettes are
basically exempted from most of the restrictions that exist now for
regular cigarettes. So what do they do? They go and advertise these
products on TV. They try to convince young people and adults that
vaping and e-cigarettes are a cessation device, which is simply not
true.
The CDC says they are not cessation devices. They hook people; they
addict people; they contain large amounts of nicotine.
The flavors that they promote--whether it be menthol, mango, whatever
it is--make the kids and adults think that these are not tobacco
products or that these are not products that contain nicotine.
Then what do the kids do? Sure, we have legislation now, a statute
that says you can't sell these products to kids under 21, but they go
online. They buy them online. They don't need an ID for that. Or they
get some adult to go to the store and buy the e-cigarettes or
cigarettes for them.
So, we need this legislation. We need to say that e-cigarettes are
deemed a tobacco product. They come under the same restrictions for
advertising and warnings as regular cigarettes. We need to ban online
sales so that kids cannot go online and buy these things without having
an ID. We need to ban flavors across-the-board because that is what
masks the nicotine and makes people think it is okay, that somehow
these are cessation devices, or even that if you smoke a menthol or
mango cigarette, somehow that does not contain nicotine and does not
become addictive.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to please vote for this
legislation. Vote for the kids. It is that important.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Request to Add Cosponsors to H.R. 2339
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to add
Congressman Michael San Nicolas, the Delegate from Guam, and
Congressman Greg Stanton of Arizona, to be added as cosponsors of the
legislation.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair cannot entertain the request of
the gentleman from New Jersey.
The gentleman from New York (Mr. Suozzi) and the gentleman from
Nebraska (Mr. Smith) each will control 22\1/2\ minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, every Democrat and every Republican in this Chamber
recognizes there is a youth vaping epidemic in the United States of
America. I am sure that every Member of Congress has heard stories
about millions of middle school and high school students using
addictive vaping products.
I became focused on this issue last year when a group of mothers from
Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes told me about the stories of
schools filled with student vaping. I actually spoke to my 16-year-old
son, and I
[[Page H1273]]
learned just how prevalent vaping has become in the school districts in
my community and how they are throughout the country.
We have to act, and we must act now.
Madam Speaker, this important bipartisan legislation we are
considering today includes my bipartisan bill, the Protecting American
Lungs Act, which passed out of the Committee on Ways and Means with
bipartisan support.
This bill will establish much-needed tax parity between vaping
products and cigarettes. It will tax nicotine, a harmful and addictive
substance, at approximately the same rate, whether you get it from an
e-cigarette or from traditional cigarettes.
Importantly, this bill includes an exception for FDA-approved
nicotine replacement therapies, which means that if a company can prove
that its product is a legitimate cessation device, then the nicotine
will not be taxed.
This bill has the support of over 50 public health, medical, and
educational organizations, including the American Academy of Nursing,
the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Cancer Action Network, the
American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the American
Medical Association, and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
These groups agree that one of the best ways we can stop people from
using vaping products is to tax them. For young people especially, who
have less money and higher price sensitivity, taxes on these products
are an effective way to decrease usage. It is proven.
In fact, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, every 10
percent increase in the cost of cigarettes leads to a 4 percent overall
smoking reduction and 7 percent less youth smoking.
I know that some people raised their voices against this effort. We
have heard it all before when we fought to raise cigarette taxes in my
State of New York. Some will say the science is not conclusive yet.
Some will advocate for free choice. Others will say this is typical
taxing Big Government.
When it is all said and done, however, the opposition will come from
those who put their lucrative nicotine interests ahead of our
children's health and proven public policy.
In my home State of New York, despite intense industry opposition, we
raised cigarette taxes. Because of that, we have some of the Nation's
lowest rates of smoking and smoking-related illnesses.
We can save lives with this bill by raising the prices of harmful
vaping products and decreasing their usage among teenagers. The
opportunity to stop the youth vaping epidemic is one that we must not
pass up.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, we know that smoking is bad for us. We all agree we
don't want kids using tobacco or vaping, which is why we came together
on a bipartisan basis last year to make it hard for kids to access
these products by raising the legal age to buy them to 21.
I cosponsored last year's bill to raise the age. Mr. Suozzi was also
a cosponsor of that bill, and I am glad we got that done.
The questions we are addressing today from the Committee on Ways and
Means' perspective, however, are whether we should tax vaping products
and by how much.
{time} 1030
I am going to vote ``no'' today because we don't have a good answer.
I will give the sponsor of this proposal credit. They endeavored to
tax liquid nicotine at a per-unit level comparable to the tax-to-
nicotine ratio of cigarettes, and they appear to have come very close
to that goal.
However, tobacco isn't taxed because it contains nicotine. It is
taxed because we understand the serious health consequences which come
with smoking or chewing tobacco itself, and those health consequences
create vast costs for programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
If we are going to consider taxing vaped nicotine, we first need to
address the underlying issues, such as the value of vaping as a
smoking-cessation tool, the relative safety of vaped nicotine versus
cigarette smoking and what really caused the spate of vaping-related
illnesses we have seen in the past year. I will start with the easiest
one first.
According to the CDC, the vaping-related illnesses can be tied back
to vitamin E acetate, an oil used in THC vaping, not to the ingredients
used to vape nicotine. Taxing nicotine does nothing to address vitamin
E acetate.
Second, how safe is vaping compared to smoking, and what is its value
as a smoking-cessation tool?
The British Journal of Family Medicine found e-cigarettes are 95
percent safer than traditional smoking, based on the fact most harmful
chemicals from smoking are not present, and those which are present
pose a limited amount of danger.
Another study from Britain's NHS found e-cigarettes were nearly twice
as likely as nicotine gum or lozenges to help quit long term.
At the same time, a study from the nonpartisan National Bureau of
Economic Research found the State of Minnesota's efforts to bring
parity to the taxation of cigarettes and e-cigarettes actually
flatlined the State's smoking-cessation trend, while other States which
didn't raise taxes continued to see smoking decrease.
Let me say that again. The State of Minnesota's efforts to bring
parity to the taxation of cigarettes and e-cigarettes actually
flatlined the State's smoking-cessation trend, while other States which
did not raise taxes continued to see smoking decrease.
At the same time, JCT's economists tell us increasing the cost of e-
cigarettes with taxes will cause some people to choose cigarettes over
e-cigarettes. That is not a choice we should be encouraging people to
make.
These are all factors which we could have considered in a bipartisan
fashion before the Ways and Means Committee marked up this bill had we
had any hearings whatsoever on vaping or this proposal itself.
Madam Speaker, we should be open to a conversation about the best way
to ensure the tax code treats tobacco and e-cigarettes appropriately.
Rushing this bill through is not the solution.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, before I yield to the chairman of our
committee, I just want to note again that the Protecting American Lungs
and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act has an exception for FDA-
approved nicotine replacement therapies and has over 50 public health,
medical, and educational organizations supporting it.
Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts
(Mr. Neal), the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee who is just a
fantastic chairman.
Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I support H.R. 2339, which will address the
epidemic of rising youth smoking across the country.
Importantly, the bill before us today incorporates a proposal
reported by the Ways and Means Committee that would establish a Federal
excise tax on nicotine products, including vaping products.
I thank Tom Suozzi, who has really done a great job on this, in a
bipartisan effort, to ensure that e-cigarette products are taxed the
same as traditional tobacco.
Studies show that excise taxes reduce both adult and underage
smoking. In general, every 10 percent increase in the real price of
cigarettes reduces the number of kids who smoke by 6 to 7 percent and
reduces overall cigarette consumption by 3 to 5 percent.
In recognition of the effort that we are making this morning,
measured by the effectiveness of excise taxes as they reduce youth
smoking, the World Health Organization recommends that e-cigarettes be
treated and regulated in the same way as traditional tobacco products.
The Surgeon General has said that raising prices on cigarettes is
``one of the most effective tobacco control interventions'' because it
reduces smoking, particularly among kids.
With this legislation, we are simply building on what we already know
works. We are ensuring that nicotine will be taxed at approximately the
same rate, whether you get it from e-cigarettes or traditional
cigarettes.
The revenue that we raise by creating parity here will be reinvested
[[Page H1274]]
into important public health work such as smoking cessation, colorectal
screening, and increasing access to treatment for people with chronic
lung disease. Specifically, we will provide needed financial protection
for Medicare beneficiaries undergoing important colorectal cancer
screenings.
I want to thank Representative Payne for leading efforts on this
commonsense policy that would reduce out-of-pocket costs for seniors to
access this effective preventative care.
In addition, H.R. 2339 allows high-deductible health plans to cover
inhalers and nebulizers for treatment of chronic lung disease. Under
this provision, patients will receive coverage before reaching their
deductible and remain eligible for health savings accounts. For
patients with chronic lung disease, lower cost and easier access to
these treatments reduces the use of more expensive medical care,
including hospitalization.
I thank Mr. Cox and Ms. Sewell for leading on these provisions.
This legislation will protect our children from significant health
consequences that come with nicotine addiction, while helping seniors
and patients with chronic lung disease.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to step up this morning and vote
for this very important measure.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Ferguson).
Mr. FERGUSON. Madam Speaker, as we stand here today, I look at this
bill with mixed emotions.
Like the gentleman from New York, from the Ways and Means Committee,
I, too, have a 16-year-old son, and we have had discussions about the
youth vaping epidemic and a real desire to curb--not only curb, but to
end youth vaping. It is a public health crisis, and we must address it.
We have done some very important things in this body.
I heard one speaker, a few minutes ago, say that the President has
done nothing to address this issue. I think signing into law T21 is a
very important piece of legislation and a very big step.
Doing all that we can to end youth vaping and youth use of tobacco is
important. As a healthcare provider for 25 years, I understand this.
More importantly, as a father of a teenager, I understand it.
I have learned in Congress that many times I don't get to vote on the
bill that I want; I have to vote on the bill that is in front of me,
and that is just the way it goes here.
But I will tell you what. This bill makes it almost impossible--as a
matter of fact, it makes it impossible to do the one thing that we all
agree on, which is that we need to end youth vaping, because let me
tell you what this bill does. It goes way beyond that.
I would be willing to bet that most Americans in the districts of the
sponsors of these bills don't know everything that these folks are
about to vote on. I would be willing to bet, as they should, that they
have communicated to the constituents back home that they are attacking
youth vaping. That is a solid, solid thing to do. But what I bet that
they haven't done is tell them what else they are about to do.
The gentleman from Oregon, the ranking member on the Committee on
Energy and Commerce, in the previous section of this debate held up a
poster with many of the products that are about to be banned. I bet
most Americans don't know that that is coming, and I think that they
should know. I think it should be part of this discussion.
I think it is outrageous that this body, once again, is going to try
to tell the American people what they can have and what they can't
have.
They are not banning tobacco; they are only banning choices.
They are not taxing high-end tobacco; they are taxing low-end
tobacco.
They are not taxing high-end cigars; they are taxing the cigars that
the working class, the men and women out there that are on the lines
every day, the ones that they are using.
What I find that is just absolutely remarkable on this is that they
are not even looking at this in a comprehensive fashion to deal with
another important part of vaping, and that is with marijuana and
vitamin E acetate.
I think that if we are going to go down this road and have the
discussion about youth vaping, why are we not including flavored
marijuana in this bill? It is a real question.
Look at where the lung damage is occurring--not the addiction, but
let's look at where the actual tissue damage occurs. It is coming from
the vitamin E acetate that is associated with THC in these pods, and
yet we are not touching that piece of it.
As a matter of fact, the chairman of the Energy and Commerce
Committee, in the Rules Committee the other night, actually indicated
that this was not necessarily a youth vaping bill but, in fact, a
tobacco bill. Well, I was proud that he, at least at that point, told
the truth on that part.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman from
Georgia an additional 2 minutes.
Mr. FERGUSON. Again, what this bill does is it goes after Americans'
choice. You may not think that they should use tobacco--we can
acknowledge the health risk associated with it--but it is not Congress'
job to make that decision for adults, for the American voter.
We have seen a consistent pattern of this. We have seen it time and
time again, whether it was from a mayor in a large city like New York
telling Americans what size Coke or soft drink they could have to
something as outrageous as my friends on the other side of the aisle
trying to tell the American voter who the President should be through
the impeachment process. Now they are going to tell them what kind of
tobacco they can use. It goes on and on and on and on.
And do you know what? If we continue down this path, it really does
start to look and smell and sound just like socialism. I don't think
that is right for this country, and we should fight back against it.
Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I just want to point out to my good friend
from Georgia that the tax does not exempt premium cigars in any way
whatsoever.
Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr.
Blumenauer), a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee and chair
of the Trade Subcommittee.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy,
and I appreciate his leadership on this issue.
I have listened to my friends on the other side of the aisle, and I
am saddened that they somehow feel that this is boiling down to some
sort of notion of choice, discrimination against African Americans.
Let's get a grip here. The cigarette is the only product which, if
used as directed, will kill you. That is why Big Tobacco has become a
genius at marketing. They have to replace their customers that they
kill every day by the thousands.
That is why they are looking at being able to hook, especially, young
people who are more impressionable, and they will smoke longer if they
are addicted.
That is how they hooked my father. He was part of the GIs in the
Pacific who got free cigarettes and became addicted. It killed him.
This is the latest chapter in this insidious marketing juggernaut.
I am sorry, it is not discrimination against African Americans who
somehow have a genetic predisposition toward menthol flavoring. That is
the result of tactics by Big Tobacco, by using advertising, politics,
culture to target this population, and it has been successful. Their
use is much higher than the general population.
Dealing with vaping and e-cigarettes is the latest chapter in that
recruitment that they have to replace the customers who die.
Well, I would suggest that, first and foremost, it is widely
understood that taxation is the single most effective mechanism to
discourage use, especially for young people. We are doing it in this
legislation, and it is important.
Now, I have heard my friends on the other side of the aisle, my good
friend from Oregon, holding up two charts, products that will be
illegal, that are widely available now, and then talking about cannabis
products and that there is no regulation.
{time} 1045
Well, that is because we have failed to actually deal with regulating
cannabis. That is like regulating flavored
[[Page H1275]]
heroin. When we tax and regulate cannabis--and we have legislation that
has passed out of the Judiciary Committee that would enable us to have
regulation. The Commerce Committee is looking at being able to
research, but we are prohibited by outmoded Federal law from actually
being able to research this.
The challenge that we have now is to be able to move forward, to be
able to protect young people and the public.
Cannabis is a red herring. If we tax and regulate it, then we can
deal with the products they are talking about. But unless and until, as
two-thirds of the States have done, we actually tax and regulate it, we
can't deal with that. That doesn't matter.
But today we can do something. Today, we can move this legislation
forward to protect young people, to have a reasonable tax mechanism, to
be able to finally strike a blow against the Big Tobacco marketing
juggernaut that is e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco.
I strongly urge support of this legislation. I appreciate what has
been done going forward. We should not fall for the phony argument that
somehow because we haven't regulated cannabis, we haven't solved the
problem.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Miller).
Mrs. MILLER. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the legislation
before us, because today my colleagues across the aisle are trying to
tax people who want to quit smoking. It is cut and dried. That is the
issue, and it is just plain wrong.
I commend this House for the advances we have made this year when it
comes to addressing youth nicotine use. Up until this point, we have
already raised the purchasing age of tobacco products to 21 years old.
We have already increased age verification standards for the online
sales of e-cigarettes, and we are continuously performing oversight
over vaping-associated lung injuries. These are serious actions to
address serious problems.
But this bill before us today completely misses the mark and punishes
the very people who should be supported. Give me a break.
Studies show that taxing vaping products increases cigarette use, not
inhibits it. And further, this doesn't even address the root of vaping-
related lung injuries, because the supporters of this bill remain
silent--silent--on black market THC products.
Federal health officials recently reported a case study that found 95
percent of vaping-related injuries were caused by using these illicit
products. This is the real problem.
Instead of overregulating this industry and overburdening taxpayers
trying to take control of their healthcare, I request that my
colleagues vote against H.R. 2339.
Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I just want to note again that the
bipartisan Protecting American Lungs Act, again, has over 50 public
health, medical, and educational organizations supporting it.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Danny K. Davis), another senior member of the Ways and Means Committee,
the chairman of the Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support, and my
good friend.
Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the
gentleman from New York for yielding and for his leadership on this
issue.
You know, I have never appreciated being discriminated against, but I
have always been told that if you fool me once, shame on you; fool me
twice, shame on me.
And there is one thing that we do know. We know from evidence-based
research that tobacco products that are smoked, inhaled, or chewed,
have no measurable health benefits. Tobacco product usage is still one
of the leading causes of preventable death in the United States,
resulting in an estimated 480,000 lives each year.
Cigarette usage is still declining in the United States. Some
analysts have reported that 34 million American adults smoke cigarettes
on a regular basis, and there are 1.2 million American middle and high
school students who smoked cigarettes in the last 30 days. According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 8.1 million American
adults used e-cigarettes every day or some days in 2018, and about 5.4
million American middle and high school students have used an e-
cigarette in the last 30 days.
I support H.R. 2339, Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the
Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020. This bill would stop the
manufacturing and use of fruity and flavored tobacco products in all
electronic nicotine delivery systems that are battery operated
containing nicotine and other chemicals.
In addition, this legislation would provide grants to community
health workers and educational awareness to cessation programs for
tobacco.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Estes).
Mr. ESTES. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 2339.
I want to be clear from the outset, we need to find ways to keep
vaping and tobacco products out of the hands of children and teenagers,
including legal products that contain nicotine, as well as the black
market products that contain THC and which have contributed to an
alarming number of health concerns and deaths, including two in my home
State of Kansas.
In recent months, these deaths have rightly attracted national
attention and scrutiny, but the bill before us today is not the right
solution to address this troubling situation.
Instead of following regular order, the tax title of this legislation
did not have a hearing prior to markup in the Ways and Means Committee.
I believe our constituents deserve to know about the impacts of vaping
and the direct causes of recent deaths before we consider a $10 billion
tax hike.
In addition, the substance of this legislation is technically flawed.
While the bill is titled the ``Protecting American Lungs and Reversing
the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act,'' it does nothing to address youth
access to tobacco.
Congress has already raised the legal age of tobacco and nicotine
consumption to 21 in December of last year. Because of this action, it
seems that the only purpose of this legislation is to eliminate choice
of millions of law-abiding adults.
The tax chapter of this legislation defines ``taxable nicotine,'' not
vaping. This targets other legal nicotine products that are unrelated
to vaping. A better solution would have been to use the FDA's
definition of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, or ENDS.
Additionally, this legislation taxes nicotine on the basis of weight.
It would have been more appropriate and technically easier to tax
vaping on the basis of milliliters, just as Kansas has done, as vaping
products are sold as liquids.
Instead of targeting black market products, the bill levies a nearly
$10 billion tax on American consumers of these legal products, which
medical journals have found to be 95 percent safer than cigarettes.
This nicotine tax does not reflect the harm of vapor products related
to traditional tobacco products. Instead it taxes vaping at a higher
level per unit than traditional combustible tobacco products, which may
encourage adults to transition back to cigarettes.
Both the CDC and the FDA have acknowledged that the outbreak of lung
illnesses and deaths are mostly attributable to illicit marijuana and
THC in vaping, which are not addressed at all in this bill.
The bill appears to be primarily a massive money grab and another
step towards an outright tobacco ban rather than a solution to a very
real health crisis.
I look forward to working to address the crisis, but I urge my
colleagues today to vote against this bill.
Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record an analysis by the
Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, showing that e-cigarette use is
dramatically higher among high school and middle school students than
amongst adults.
Action Needed: E-Cigarettes
Since their introduction in 2008, e-cigarettes have become
both ubiquitous and an increasing source of public policy
concern and debate. This concern stems primarily from drastic
increases in youth e-cigarette use. The most recent data show
that 27.5% of high schoolers are using these products--a rate
of youth tobacco product use not seen in nearly two decades.
The public health community, parents and educators are
shocked and worried to find their children and students using
these products at home and even
[[Page H1276]]
in class. Young people are reporting severe signs of
dependence, including using e-cigarettes when they first wake
up, inability to concentrate in the classroom without using
an e-cigarette, and even waking in the night to get a
nicotine fix.
We have known for decades that youth in particular should
not be exposed to nicotine because it changes brain chemistry
to create a stronger addiction, can lead to memory and
concentration problems, and can make youth who use it more
susceptible to addiction to other substances. Research also
suggests that young people who use e-cigarettes are four
times more likely to go on to smoke combustible cigarettes.
E-cigarettes are now threatening to undo all the progress
that the public health community and government have made
over decades to reduce cigarette smoking. Indeed, the surgeon
general raised the alarm by issuing an advisory declaring a
youth e-cigarette epidemic in December 2018. Since then, data
show that more and more youth continue to use e-cigarettes.
And this isn't just experimental or occasional use--it's
regular use likely driven by addiction. The most recent
National Youth Tobacco Survey data show that 34.2% of current
high school e-cigarette users use them on 20 days or more per
month.
Conversely, as the youth e-cigarette epidemic has continued
unabated, we have seen adults, and especially older smokers,
simply reject the product. In 2014, the first year that the
National Health Interview Survey measured adult use of e-
cigarettes, 3.7% of adults used the product in the last 30
days. In 2018, the adult usage remained low, at 3.2%, and was
largely driven by young adult users (7.6%), who have matured
during the youth e-cigarette epidemic. While some adults have
switched completely to e-cigarettes from combustible
cigarettes, the predominant pattern among adult users
continues to be e-cigarette use in conjunction with smoking.
This ``dual use,'' however, provides no reduction in the
harms associated with smoking.
As youth use continues to rise, the science around the
potential harms of e-cigarettes has grown. Studies show that
e-cigarettes produce lower amounts, but are not free from the
toxins found in cigarettes. At the same time, flavoring
compounds and other ingredients may be producing their own
unique harms. Recent studies demonstrate the harms e-
cigarettes pose to the respiratory system. Similarly, new
studies show e-cigarettes may present unique threats to
cardiovascular health. It continues to be nearly impossible
to make generalized statements about the potential harms and
benefits of the overall category of e-cigarettes due to the
incredible variation in hardware design and ingredients.
Moreover, as industry executives themselves have
acknowledged, we simply do not know the long-term health
impacts of e-cigarette use. It took us many decades to
understand the toxicity of cigarettes, and, even today, we
are discovering new ways in which they harm health.
Simply put, the data show that e-cigarettes as they are
currently sold and regulated in the United States are
overwhelmingly a vehicle for youth initiation, not adult
cessation. E-cigarettes expose kids--who otherwise never
would have been--to nicotine and put them at risk for both
long- and short-term health consequences.
THE POSITION OF TRUTH INITIATIVE
Truth Initiative has maintained that there may be some
possible public health benefit from properly regulated e-
cigarettes, provided manufacturers can demonstrate that the
products can help adults quit smoking combustible cigarettes
safely and completely. However, no e-cigarette has been
approved for smoking cessation and no e-cigarette has gone
through the rigorous scientific review necessary to determine
whether it actually does help smokers to quit. Furthermore,
any public health benefit from e-cigarettes for smokers must
be weighed against the incredibly high youth use of e-
cigarettes and the fact that there are currently no
significant marketing restrictions on these products. Without
a significant change in regulatory approach, it is unlikely
that e-cigarettes will contribute to the overall benefit of
public health.
Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Cox), a good friend and leader on this important issue
to reduce cost for Americans with chronic lung disease and asthma.
Mr. COX of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to applaud the
inclusion of my bipartisan bill, the Inhaler Coverage and Access Now
Act, the I CAN Act, into H.R. 2339, the Protecting American Lungs and
Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020.
The I CAN Act is about commonsense prevention and investing in
consistent treatment to avoid expensive care later down the road. Moms
and dads shouldn't have to choose between paying their mortgage or
paying their rent or buying an inhaler for their kids. No one should
have to make that choice. The I CAN Act allows you to access inhalers,
whether or not you have reached your deductible. For so many families,
this removes a critical cost barrier for the care they need and
deserve.
Like so many preventive medicines and procedures, inhalers actually
save patients, hospitals, and insurers money by cutting down on
hospitalizations and medical emergencies before they start. As we all
know, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Today, the annual cost of asthma in the United States is more than
$56 billion. Why is that? That is because of the 1.8 million emergency
room visits which could have been avoided if people had the inhalers
they needed.
But worse yet are the 3,300 deaths from asthma each year. And these
deaths were preventable. Let me say that again: These deaths were
preventable. And in the richest country in the world, it is an outrage
that anyone dies because they cannot get the medicine they need. We
need to make treatment accessible, and this bill does just that.
For so many families, our friends and our coworkers, asthma medicine
is lifesaving, and many will pay whatever it takes to get the drugs
they need.
Naturally, Big Pharma knows this, and they have taken advantage of
that. For example, albuterol, one of the oldest asthma medicines,
typically costs $50 to $100 per inhaler in the U.S. Less than a decade
ago, it was $15. Then the manufacturer made some small changes,
repatented it, and raised the price by 600 percent. That is price
gouging. And while it might be good for the drug company's bottom
lines, it is bad medicine for America.
I represent California's 21st Congressional District in the San
Joaquin Valley, which has the worst air basin in the Nation. And to
make matters worse, many of our rural communities have faced extreme
challenges when accessing asthma care.
For my constituents and for patients across the country with asthma,
it was a major priority for me to introduce the I CAN Act, to remove
barriers and increase access to inhalers by providing patients with the
coverage for inhaler medication.
I want to thank the Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and
Commerce Committee for taking the necessary action to protect the
health of America's children.
We can pass the I CAN Act to make inhalers available to everyone. We
can prevent youth tobacco use. We can address the youth e-cigarette
epidemic. We can, with our vote today, show we care, and we can act to
improve the health of our young people.
I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2339.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record 10
letters in opposition to H.R. 2339.
The first letter is from a group of letter-writers that would include
the Drug Policy Alliance, the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, the
National Action Network, the National Association of Criminal Defense
Lawyers, the National Association of Social Workers, the Center for
Popular Democracy, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Other letters come from the National Taxpayers Union, Freedom Works,
R Street Institute, Citizens Against Government Waste, and the National
Association of Convenience Stores.
Monday, February 24, 2020.
Re Coalition Concerns with Blanket Prohibition on Menthol and
Other Flavored Tobacco within H.R. 2339, Reversing the
Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act.
Hon. Frank Pallone,
Chairman, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington,
DC.
The undersigned civil rights and civil liberties
organizations write to express concerns with a broad
prohibition on menthol and other flavored tobacco products
within H.R. 2339, the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic
Act of 2019. While this legislation is a well-intended effort
to address health issues associated with tobacco use among
youth, we have concerns that a blanket prohibition on menthol
and other flavored tobacco products, which will apply to
adults, will (1) disproportionately impact people and
communities of color; (2) trigger criminal penalties,
prioritizing criminalization over public health and harm
reduction; and (3) instigate unconstitutional policing and
other negative interactions with local law enforcement.
I. H.R. 2339 Disproportionately Impacts People and Communities of Color
Of adults, approximately 80 percent of Blacks and 35
percent of Latinx who choose to smoke prefer menthol
cigarettes. Thus, any ban on menthol cigarettes will
disproportionately affect people of color. While H.R. 2339
and similar legislation are often motivated by the desire to
decrease and
[[Page H1277]]
eliminate smoking among certain populations, Blacks and other
people of color should not disproportionately bear the brunt
of enforcement of such prohibitions, which a menthol ban
would ensure.
Similarly, enforcement of a ban on flavored cigars will
also disproportionally impact people of color given cigar
preferences. Black adults are 60% of cigarillo and non-
premium cigar smokers, with these products often flavored.
Additionally, at Committee markup, H.R. 2339 was amended to
exempt certain traditional, expensive cigars from a
prohibition of online tobacco sales. There is no
justification for differentiating a La Palina from a Black
and Mild. Making this distinction undermines the public
health arguments made for this bill and suggests that some
tobacco preferences, within certain communities, will be
prioritized and protected over others.
II. H.R. 2339 Increases Criminal Penalties Over Public Health
H.R. 2339 prohibits menthol and other flavored tobacco
products under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).
This prohibition criminalizes the manufacturing, importing,
distributing, or selling of menthol and other flavored
tobacco products under the FD&C Act, imposing up to three
years of imprisonment. Violating a menthol and flavored
tobacco ban would implicate other federal criminal penalties
as well. For example, the Federal Cigarette Contraband
Trafficking Act would be implicated, allowing up to five
years of imprisonment.
With a criminal legal system that incarcerates Blacks at
nearly six times the rate of white Americans and a prison
population that is 67 percent Black and Latinx, any
prohibition on menthol and flavored tobacco products promises
continued overcriminalization and mass incarceration of
people of color. A ban on menthol and flavored tobacco
products could reintroduce many of the harms imposed by the
failed war on drugs as lawmakers work to legalize cannabis
and take a public health approach to opioids. A bill
criminalizing tobacco is contrary to those efforts. Righting
the wrongs of earlier failed drug policy requires
consideration of the unintended consequences of well-
intentioned policies, especially on the most vulnerable
communities. It also requires us to remember that harm
reduction, including education and counseling, are what work
to reduce usage and harm in our society, not prohibition.
III. H.R. 2339 Encourages Harmful Police Practices
Recent history shows us that drug prohibitions and bans
increase negative interactions between law enforcement and
people of color. The New York Police Department's (NYPD) stop
and frisk program resulted in nearly 700,000 stops in 2011,
with drugs serving as the alleged pretext for most of those
stops. Ninety percent of those stops were of Black and Latinx
people. We are concerned that law enforcement's attempts to
enforce a menthol and flavored tobacco ban will undoubtedly
lead to fines, arrests, and eventual incarceration for those
who continue to use and sell menthol and flavored tobacco
products. While the legislation was amended at Committee to
try to minimize law enforcement practices here, it only
applies in the context of federal enforcement of the FD&C
Act; it does not govern local enforcement around any state
and city prohibition policies that will follow.
The death of Eric Garner in 2014 generated national
attention not only for the brutality he experienced at the
hands of NYPD police, but for the reason that led to the
encounter with law enforcement. Mr. Garner died from an
illegal chokehold having been stopped by police for selling
single cigarettes in violation of state law. Gwendolyn Carr,
Eric Garner's mother, cautions: ``When you ban a product sold
mostly in Black communities, you must consider the reality of
what will happen to that very same overrepresented community
in the criminal justice system.'' With a federal prohibition
on menthol and flavored tobacco products, states will develop
their own prohibition and enforcement policies that could
result in harmful police practices like that witnessed with
Mr. Garner.
Based on our concerns, we urge you to not impose a blanket
ban on menthol and related tobacco products. A prohibition on
all menthol and flavored tobacco products will not achieve a
public heath goal of reducing smoking among Black people,
young people, or others. We hope we can work together to
avoid repetitions of policies that are intended to protect
youth and communities of color, but instead only further
engrain systemic criminalization and racism.
Sincerely,
American Civil Liberties Union, Drug Policy Alliance, Law
Enforcement Action Partnership, National Action Network,
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National
Association of Social Workers, The Center for Popular
Democracy.
____
National Taxpayers Union,
February 25, 2020.
National Taxpayers Union urges all Representatives to vote
``NO'' on H.R. 2339, the ``Protecting American Lungs and
Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act'' of 2020. This
disastrous legislation would significantly raise taxes and
limit the ability for cigarette smokers to transition to less
harmful vapor and e-cigarette products.
As written, H.R. 2339 contains one of the largest tax
increases considered by the 116th Congress to date. This
legislation would levy a new excise tax on nicotine contained
in vaping products to match the rate of the federal cigarette
excise tax and could raise nearly $10 billion, according to
CBO. It's a significant tax hike that will severely harm
consumers and small business owners. While there is likely to
be harm to the economic health of the country, there would
also be damage to the health of adults transitioning away
from deadly cigarettes. According to a study published by the
National Bureau of Economic Research, taxing vapor products
at the same rate as traditional cigarettes would deter
approximately 2.75 million Americans from kicking their
habit. In other words, tax policy alone could make it less
likely that millions of Americans make choices that would
improve their health.
It is particularly concerning that this legislation
prohibits all flavors of tobacco products, including menthol.
In their attempts to quit, adult tobacco smokers typically
start with tobacco-flavored e-liquid, but research indicates
many end up switching to other flavors that this legislation
would prohibit. Cracking down on legal-age buyers of flavored
e-cigarettes will limit access to less harmful alternatives
that could potentially save hundreds of thousands of lives
each year. Blanket prohibitions are seldom successful and
often lead consumers to untaxed and unregulated black markets
to access products.
These devastating provisions completely disregard the
benefits vapor products have as an important cigarette
cessation tool. Vapor products still allow users to consume
nicotine, but avoid the traditional combustion of cigarettes,
which contain toxins and other dangerous chemicals. Some
government studies have found that e-cigarettes are 95
percent safer than traditional tobacco products and can be as
much as twice as effective as gum or patches to help users
quit. Smoking is a high-risk activity and providing smokers
with a way to consume nicotine in a safer way is a large
public health benefit, increasing life expectancy and
reducing mortality.
Roll call votes on H.R. 2339 will be heavily-weighted in
NTU's annual Rating of Congress and a ``NO'' vote will be
considered the pro-taxpayer position.
____
FreedomWorks,
February 26, 2020.
Key Vote No on the Quit or Die Act, H.R. 2339
On behalf of FreedomWorks' activist community, I urge you
to contact your representative and ask him or her to vote NO
on the ``Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth
Tobacco Epidemic Act,'' H.R. 2339. This bill is nothing short
of an assault on the vaping industry, which provides smokers
with a method of harm reduction that is 95 percent safer than
traditional, combustible cigarettes. The message House
Democrats are sending with H.R. 2339 is that Americans who
want to kick the habit through vaping should either ``quit or
die.''
H.R. 2339 would outright ban online sales of flavored
vaping products, and ban the flavors themselves. The bill
would also require graphic health warnings on tobacco
packaging. This is nanny state governance at its worst.
Despite the bill's wildly misleading short title, it will
not, in fact, do anything to combat youth usage of tobacco
products. What it will do is make it more difficult for adult
smokers to quit on their own terms. This bill prohibits the
use of any and all characterizing flavors of tobacco
products, including menthol. It's important to note this is
not limited to e-cigarettes. Traditional menthol cigarettes
would become illegal if this bill were made law.
The sponsors of H.R. 2339, Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and
Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), have put a stark choice before
smokers in the United States: quit or die. Studies have shown
that e-cigarettes are both 95 percent less harmful than
traditional cigarettes and a more effective means of
quitting. H.R. 2339 takes that option entirely off the table.
Under this legislation, if smokers cannot quit cold turkey,
they are left to suffer the crippling medical consequences on
their own.
This bill also presents a variety of First Amendment
concerns. It would require tobacco companies to provide
graphic health warnings on their packaging. This is compelled
commercial speech by the government, something that's been
ruled unconstitutional a number of times. The late Supreme
Court Justice Lewis Powell set forth a test for government
regulation of commercial speech. The two prongs were that in
order to be regulated, the existing labeling must actively be
misleading and there must be a substantial government
interest involved. The Pallone-Shalala bill fails both tests.
Furthermore, this bill greatly increases the Food and Drug
Administration's (FDA) authority to regulate this space. The
FDA would have the ability to hand down even more stringent
regulations on the sale of existing products and collect fees
or taxes on them. This is an unacceptable growth of an
unelected bureaucratic agency.
Amusingly, this package contains a provision that would
require a study to be conducted on the effects of e-
cigarettes. This is a clear admission by the drafters of this
legislation that they not only ignored the medical research
surrounding vaping but that they also have no intention of
doing so before they wholesale ban an entire category of
products.
[[Page H1278]]
H.R. 2339 also includes the text of H.R. 4742. This aspect
of the bill would impose a new excise tax on nicotine used in
vaping, at a rate of $50.33 per 1,810 milligrams or at a
proportional rate. The Congressional Budget Office projects
that H.R. 4742 would increase tax revenues by nearly $10
billion over ten years. Obviously, this bill is aimed at
deterring people from vaping by increasing the costs, which
will be passed along to the consumer at the point of sale.
This kind of excise tax typically impacts lower-income
individuals. The National Center for Biotechnological
Information notes, ``In 2013, the prevalence of smoking among
US adults living at or below the US Census poverty threshold
was 80% greater than that of those living above the poverty
line (33.8% compared to 18.7%). This elevated prevalence is
in part due to the reality that compared to more advantaged
smokers, over time disadvantaged smokers have a lesser
likelihood of quitting.''
We find it peculiar that House Democrats, who have so
frequently relied on class warfare rhetoric to push a
socialist agenda, have sought to protect the state and local
tax (SALT) deduction--which overwhelmingly benefits higher-
income earners in high-tax states like California, New
Jersey, and New York--but are so willing to hit lower-income
individuals with such a regressive tax. We find the hypocrisy
palpable.
Because H.R. 2339 creates new prohibitions on certain
activities--including banning menthol and other flavors--it
opens up the possibility of criminal penalties under the
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 333) and the Federal
Cigarette Contraband Trafficking Act (18 U.S.C. 2344). In
short, individuals who participate in this behavior could be
exposed to fines and prison time.
FreedomWorks will count the vote on H.R. 2339 on our 2020
Congressional Scorecard and reserves the right to score any
related votes. The scorecard is used to determine eligibility
for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes Members of the
House and Senate who consistently vote to support economic
freedom and individual liberty.
Sincerely,
Adam Brandon,
President, FreedomWorks.
____
R Street,
Washington, DC, February 25, 2020.
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader McCarthy and Members
of the House of Representatives: The R Street Institute--a
nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization
focused on pragmatic solutions to policy challenges--has a
number of concerns with H.R. 2339, the ``Reversing the Youth
Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019.'' We recognize that preventing
non-smoking young people from establishing both e-cigarette
and combustible cigarette use is vital to the future health
of the population. However, it is important to recognize that
smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the
United States, and we must continually evaluate the available
strategies for decreasing tobacco-related morbidity and
mortality. E-cigarettes provide such a strategy.
Undoubtedly, the youth use trend is cause for concern and
continued investigation. However, this cannot be the only
measure of the effect of e-cigarettes on population health.
Based on the body of research as a whole, we urge the
committee to consider pursuing policies that reflect the
short- and long-term population health impact of e-cigarettes
relative to the known harms of combustible cigarettes.
E-cigarettes are a harm reduction and smoking cessation tool
The best available science indicates e-cigarettes are not
likely to exceed 5 percent of the harm associated with
combustible cigarettes, a conclusion supported by both Public
Health England and recently the National Academies of
Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Also, like traditional
nicotine replacement therapies, e-cigarettes do not produce
environmental tobacco smoke that harms bystanders. It is
estimated that e-cigarettes have the potential to save up to
6 million lives by 2100 if only 10 percent of current smokers
switch to e-cigarettes in the next 10 years.
Many experts recognize that e-cigarettes present a reduced
risk because they do not employ the traditional cigarette
combustion process that releases around 7,000 chemicals--some
of which are highly carcinogenic. For this reason, one such
expert, former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, has made
reduced-risk products like e-cigarettes central to the FDA's
roadmap:
While it's the addiction to nicotine that keeps people
smoking, it's primarily the combustion, which releases
thousands of harmful constituents into the body at dangerous
levels that kills people. This fact represents both the
biggest challenge to curtailing cigarette addiction--and also
holds the seeds of an opportunity that's a central construct
for our actions. E-cigarettes may present an important
opportunity for adult smokers to transition off combustible
tobacco products.
Although there are a number of pharmaceutical products that
can help smokers quit, it is important to remember that it is
not only nicotine dependence that makes quitting combustible
cigarettes difficult. For some, smoking offers stress relief,
comradery or other psycho-social pleasure, and some even
consider it a component of their identity. This often makes
the physical act of smoking just as difficult to quit as the
nicotine. Unlike the FDA-approved methods of smoking
cessation, e-cigarettes do not force a smoker to forgo the
secondary pleasure they get from the act of smoking while
they are adjusting to the physiological effects of decreased
nicotine.
Indeed, e-cigarettes have quickly become the number one
quit tool in many parts of the world, allowing an untold
number of smokers to quit cigarettes. Public health modeling
has suggested that e-cigarettes are contributing to more
rapid declines in smoking rates than were seen in previous
years. In the United States and the United Kingdom e-
cigarettes have outpaced traditional quit methods
(varenicline, nicotine replacement therapies and counseling)
and demonstrate a higher degree of success. Furthermore, in a
randomized trial, smokers who used e-cigarettes as a
cessation device achieved sustained abstinence at roughly
twice the rate of smokers who used nicotine replacement
therapy.
Flavors help smokers transition away from combustible cigarettes
The availability of non-tobacco flavors also assists
smokers with the transition away from combustible cigarettes.
The International Journal of Environmental Research and
Public Health reports that limitations in flavor choices
negatively impact user experience. About 40 percent of former
and current adult smokers predict that removing their ability
to choose flavors would make them less likely to remain
abstinent or attempt to quit. In fact, data suggests that
current smokers are partial to the flavor of traditional
tobacco, while fruit and sweet flavors are preferred by
former smokers, indicating a correlation between flavors and
sustained abstinence from combustible cigarettes.
Moreover, it has recently been demonstrated that e-
cigarette users who use non-tobacco flavors, including
menthol and non-menthol (fruit, sweet, dessert) flavors are
more likely to completely switch from combustible cigarettes
than those who choose tobacco flavors. Flavored e-liquids are
yet another way that e-cigarettes can help smokers
disassociate combustible cigarettes--and the characteristic
flavor--from their pleasurable effects.
Although many organizations and leaders suggest flavors
attract young people to e-cigarettes, the 2019 National Youth
Tobacco Survey casts doubt on that assertion. Among middle
school and high school students, the most commonly endorsed
reason for using e-cigarettes was ``I was curious about
them.'' Overall, 53 percent of students surveyed indicated
curiosity as a reason they use e-cigarettes. The second most
common reason for use was if a student's friend or family
member used e-cigarettes. With just 22 percent of students
endorsing availability of flavors as a reason for vaping, it
is clear that social factors, not flavors, are the driving
force behind youth e-cigarette use.
R Street applauds raising the age of purchase of all tobacco products
to 21
Of course, smokers are not the only population impacted by
e-cigarettes, and addressing youth use is important. Our
organization, the R Street Institute, endorsed raising the
minimum age of purchase for all tobacco products to 21, which
was signed into law Dec. 20, 2019. This change will help
prevent youth access in high school by limiting opportunities
for younger students to buy from peers who, prior to the
federal minimum-age-to-purchase increase, obtained the
products legally. In combination with more stringent point-
of-sale age verification and meaningful penalties for
merchants who violate minimum-age-to-purchase laws, this
change will significantly limit youth access.
The impact of nationwide 21-to-purchase legislation is yet
to be evaluated; however, evidence from areas that raised the
minimum age to purchase prior to the federal legislation
suggests that this change will be highly effective at
decreasing youth tobacco use. Following implementation of a
21-to-purchase law in Needham, Massachusetts, there was an
unprecedented 47 percent reduction (from 13 to 7 percent) in
past 30-day smoking rates among high schoolers over four
years (2008-2012).
R Street does not support banning non-face-to-face sales of e-
cigarettes
It is imperative that the availability of reduced-risk
alternatives remains in place for people who use e-cigarettes
as a cessation tool. According to the 2016 Surgeon General's
Report, in 2014, 20 percent of all e-cigarette sales occurred
online. It is estimated that in 2018, 32 percent of all e-
cigarette sales occurred online. As more proposals arise to
limit what kinds of brick and mortar establishments are able
to sell e-cigarettes or other reduced-risk products--all
while protecting combustible sales--online sales may be the
only point of access for people who, for many reasons, cannot
reach specialty stores. It should not be a surprise to the
committee that people who live with disabilities, are
economically disadvantaged or live in rural areas are
overrepresented in the smoking population. These particular
factors represent true barriers to face-to-face access to
specialty products. Online sales and delivery may be the only
way that smokers have access to safer products.
Furthermore, there is a misperception that online sales of
e-cigarettes are more vulnerable to underage access. Legal
retailers that sell their products online have strict FDA-
mandated age verification systems that are successful in
preventing underage access to their products. Unverified
underage sales
[[Page H1279]]
largely occur on eBay or other websites where age
verification is not vital. Banning non-face-to-face sales
will not stop illegitimate online sales to underage persons
from occurring, as these sales are already illegal.
the fda's role in protecting public health
Finally, it is important to recognize that the FDA has
developed a regulatory pathway to evaluate the safety and
public health impact of all new tobacco products, including
considerations of flavors. This is a process that has been
carefully designed over several years to ensure new tobacco
products, like e-cigarettes, will not have a negative impact
on the health of the population as a whole. Given that
manufacturers must file their Premarket Tobacco Applications
for all deemed tobacco products, which includes virtually all
e-cigarettes, by May 12, 2020 or risk removal from the
market, it makes sense to delay enacting any federal bans.
Allowing the safety and regulatory experts at the FDA to lead
the way in authorizing the sale of these products is the most
appropriate way forward, something acknowledged by
Sec. 103(d.2) of this bill.
Policies that treat e-cigarettes the same as combustible
cigarettes encourage current smokers to continue doing
enormous harm to their health by discouraging a switch from
combustible products. Conversely, policies that reflect the
lesser harm of e-cigarettes can significantly reduce the
enormous burden of disease that combustible cigarettes impose
on society.
One thing is certain: We are all striving to improve and
protect the nation's health. To do so, we must recognize the
potential for e-cigarettes to mitigate risks associated with
combustible cigarettes if we wish to encourage a healthful
populace. We encourage you to consider policies that reflect
the reduced risk of e-cigarettes compared to combustible
cigarettes as we work towards creating a healthier
population.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Respectfully submitted,
Carrie Wade, Ph.D., M.P.H.,
Director of Harm Reduction Policy, R Street Institute.
Chelsea Boyd, M.S.,
Research Associate in Harm Reduction Policy, R Street
Institute.
____
February 14, 2020.
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative: On November 19, 2019, H.R. 2339, the
Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019, was
reported out of the Energy and Commerce Committee. It is
likely you will vote on this legislation before the end of
February.
The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW)
understands the concerns Congress has with youth use of
tobacco products, particularly electronic nicotine delivery
systems (ENDS) and vaping, but legislation was passed in
December 2019 that raised the age from 18 to 21 for the legal
use of any tobacco product. It would seem obvious that
Congress should allow that new law to take hold before H.R.
2339, a far more drastic measure, is even considered. If this
bill should become law, it would create a black market that
will cause great harm to our citizens. On behalf of the more
than 1 million members and supporters of CCAGW, I ask that
you oppose H.R. 2339.
The legislation would make it illegal to sell any flavored
ENDS product and ban flavors in other tobacco products,
including menthol, mint, and spice flavors found in
combustible cigarettes and non-combustible products like
flavored cigars and chewing tobacco. Only natural tobacco
flavor would be allowed.
Adults use ENDS and other non-combustible harm-reduction
tobacco products to quit smoking because they enjoy the sweet
and fruity flavors, finding them essential in moving away
from smoking. Banning menthol and other flavors, like spices
and herbs found in combustible cigarettes and other products
like chewing tobacco, will encourage many current users to
find other sources of these flavors. Menthol crystals can
easily be bought and enterprising street vendors will be
eager to sell a variety of flavorings for all tobacco users.
Much of the impetus behind H.R. 2339 was based on reports
that youth use of e-cigarettes had climbed significantly. The
2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey data showed that 64.8
percent of youth had never tried an e-cigarette and 6.7
percent had used an e-cigarette in their entire life for more
than 100 days. The largest percent of youth purchased their
e-cigarette from a friend, not a store. Certainly, 6.7
percent is a number to be concerned about but whether that
should be considered an epidemic and warrant passing such
radical legislation that will hurt adults who are using harm
reduction tobacco products to quit smoking is questionable.
For example, according to 2017 Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) statistics, it was found that among high school
students, during the past 30 days, 30 percent drank some
amount of alcohol; 14 percent binge drank; 6 percent drove
after drinking alcohol; and, 17 percent rode with a driver
who had been drinking alcohol. Yet despite these numbers,
Congress is not calling for a ban on alcohol. That was tried
before with disastrous results.
In late summer and into the early fall, there were reports
of severe illnesses and death due to a national outbreak of
``e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung
injury'' or EVALI. The CDC admits that as of February 11,
2020 the data shows tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing e-
cigarette, or vaping products, which were obtained from
``informal sources like friends, family, or in-person or
online dealers, are linked to most EVALI cases and play a
major role in the outbreak'' and that ``Vitamin E acetate is
strongly linked to the EVALI outbreak.''
In other words, it was the illicit market that caused the
problem, not the legitimate ENDS market that produces
thousands of jobs and helps millions of ex-smokers stay away
from combustible cigarettes that Congress and the Food and
Drug Administration are so keen to destroy.
Fortunately, the EVALI cases have dropped significantly, so
Congress and health officials should take heed. Tobacco is a
legal product in the U.S. and even if Congress could ban it,
there should be little doubt that China would step in and
flood an illicit market as it is the leading producer of
tobacco in the world. The same result will occur if flavors
are banned, especially with ENDS products. Current adult
users will either go back to combustible cigarettes, which
are deadly, or take the chance and purchase illegal products.
Congress will have created a real health crisis that could
have been avoided.
Again, I urge you to vote no on H.R. 2339. All votes on
this legislation will be among those considered for CCAGW's
2020 Congressional Ratings.
Sincerely,
Tom Schatz,
President, CCAGW.
____
NACS,
Alexandria, VA, February 24, 2020.
Re Key Vote Alert: Oppose the Reversing the Youth Tobacco
Epidemic Act of 2019 (H.R. 2339).
Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
Speaker, House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Kevin McCarthy,
Minority Leader, House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leader McCarthy: The National
Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) represents the
convenience industry, which has approximately 153,000 stores
in the United States and employees over 2.36 million workers.
In 2018, the convenience industry generated $654.3 billion in
total sales. Convenience stores serve about 165 million
people per day--around half of the U.S. population--and the
industry processes nearly 75 billion payment transactions per
year. Yet, the industry is truly an industry of small
businesses--approximately 62 percent of convenience store
owners operate a single store, and approximately 74 percent
of NACS' membership is composed of companies that operate ten
stores or fewer.
The industry has devoted a substantial amount of time and
resources to ensuring that convenience store operators are
equipped to comply with federal, state, and local tobacco
regulations. NACS shares Congress's concern with the number
of underage users of e-cigarettes and supports legislative
efforts to curb underage use of tobacco products.
NACS, however, opposes certain provisions in the Reversing
the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019 (H.R. 2339). H.R. 2339
would ban all flavored tobacco products--including menthol
cigarettes, flavored smokeless tobacco, and flavored cigars--
which in turn would create an illicit market for these
flavored tobacco products.
It's important for lawmakers to understand the impact that
banning flavored tobacco products would have on the market.
Today, the menthol market accounts for roughly 30 percent of
cigarette sales and the flavored market accounts for roughly
50 percent of cigar sales. What's more, nearly 86 percent of
smokeless tobacco sales are for flavored products. It is
unreasonable to assume that consumers will simply transition
away from these flavored products to unflavored tobacco
alternatives.
Instead, a ban on menthol cigarettes, flavored smokeless
tobacco, and flavored cigars will undoubtedly lead to a black
market for these products because of the broad consumer base
that exists among adult users. When that happens, the illicit
purveyors of menthol cigarettes, flavored smokeless tobacco,
and flavored cigars, operating outside of the law, will not
discriminate among their customers based on age. We already
see this problem in the large illicit tobacco market that
exists today.
Moreover, growth in the illicit market for tobacco
increases health concerns. Congress, when it passed the
Tobacco Control Act in 2009, granted the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate tobacco
products, including oversight into how tobacco products are
manufactured. Tobacco manufacturers create products that are
fully scrutinized and regulated by FDA; black market
suppliers may ignore those regulations. Banning menthol
cigarettes, flavored smokeless tobacco, and flavored cigars
will eliminate FDA's oversight of these products, an
important public health safeguard that Congress intended in
the Tobacco Control Act.
[[Page H1280]]
A ban of menthol cigarettes, flavored smokeless tobacco,
and flavored cigars also will create a ``grey'' market.
Without a domestic source for these products, adult users
will purchase them over the Internet, when they travel
abroad, and through bulk importers/distributors. Again, these
products will be unregulated by the FDA, therefore losing
whatever health protections that Congress intended in the
Tobacco Control Act.
The FDA needs to have a plan and demonstrated ability to
deal with the problems of the illicit market for tobacco
products before anyone considers a ban on menthol cigarettes,
flavored smokeless tobacco, and flavored cigars. If a ban
comes first, children and public health will be negatively
impacted by the resulting illicit market.
Because of these concerns, NACS is key voting the bill and
urges you to vote against H.R. 2339.
Respectfully,
Lyle Beckwith,
Senior Vice President, Government Relations.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I will include letters from
Americans for Tax Reform, Altria, Taxpayer Protection Alliance, and the
Tax Foundation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I just want to mention again that the
Protecting American Lungs Act had over 50 public health, medical, and
educational organizations sponsoring it.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms.
Shalala), a very good friend, a real leader on health issues, and the
former Secretary of Health and Human Services in the United States of
America.
Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I would like to submit for the Record a
letter from the leading voice of African American physicians, Dr. Louis
Sullivan, in support of the legislation.
Dr. Sullivan was my predecessor at HHS. He served as Secretary from
1989 to 1993 under President Bush and is the president emeritus of
Morehouse School of Medicine.
Louis W. Sullivan, MD,
Atlanta, GA, February 26, 2020.
Hon. Frank Pallone,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Pallone: I write to you today to express my
strong support for H.R. 2339, Reversing the Youth Tobacco
Epidemic, and I urge its passage by the House of
Representatives.
There is an urgent need for action to protect the health of
Americans--including the health of our young minority
citizens--from the adverse health consequences of tobacco,
including menthol-flavored cigarettes. For too many years,
the tobacco industry has used menthol cigarettes--and now
flavored cigars--to prey on minority youth and addict them to
deadly tobacco products.
In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration's Tobacco
Products Scientific Advisory Committee found that removing
menthol cigarettes from the marketplace ``would benefit
public health in the United States.'' It concluded that
menthol cigarettes have been disproportionately targeted at
African Americans and have been disproportionately smoked by
African Americans. Yet, the Food and Drug Administration
failed to act to remove these products from the marketplace.
A number of localities prohibit the sale of all flavored
products, including menthol cigarettes. Local action is
important but local policies will not protect millions of
African Americans: Congress must remove all flavored products
from store shelves in order to protect minority populations.
A nationwide policy will also help end inconsistent
enforcement.
Removing all flavored tobacco products, including menthol
cigarettes will save lives--especially the lives of our
minority citizens. I urge you and the House to move forward
with removing all flavored tobacco products, including
menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.
Sincerely yours,
Louis W. Sullivan, MD,
President Emeritus, Morehouse School of Medicine, U.S.
Secretary of Health and Human Services, 1989-1993.
{time} 1100
Madam Speaker, as our Nation anticipates the probability of a
pandemic, here today in this House, the people's House, we have the
opportunity to save millions of young lives that would be cut short by
nicotine if we fail to act.
I am not exaggerating. The CDC predicted that, if the children of our
country continue to use tobacco products at the current rate, 5.6
million will have premature deaths.
This is a test of our courage. Let's look at the facts.
In 1997, 24.6 percent of all 12th graders reported daily use of
cigarettes. Thanks to smart, tough policies and a national commitment
to reducing cigarette use, those numbers dropped to 3.6 percent by
2018.
Nearly 90 percent of adult smokers began smoking before the age of
18. If you don't start smoking as a child, it is very unlikely you will
smoke as an adult. This isn't a secret. Public health officials know
this, and tobacco companies know this, too. They also know nicotine is
a highly addictive substance.
This dramatic reduction in cigarette use by children put tobacco
companies in a bind. If children and teenagers have stopped using
cigarettes and 90 percent of all adult smokers began smoking as
children, how can they maintain a pipeline of customers?
Their answer arrived in the form of a new technology: e-cigarettes
and vaping products. Companies knew that the pipeline of lifetime
smokers was dwindling, so they started to market new vaping products to
young people.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentlewoman from Florida.
Ms. SHALALA. They started marketing new vaping products to young
people through Instagram ads and influencers and other social media
platforms. They handed out free vaping products. They clearly targeted
our children, and the strategy worked.
It is time to ensure that our children do not face a lifetime of
nicotine addiction. It is time to finally pass a bill that protects
their health, and that is what this bill does. I strongly support it.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
It is important to note that I previously asked for some letters to
be entered into the Record, and I think it is important to note some of
the points that these organizations raise back to the ACLU and the
Association of Social Workers and other groups.
They talk about this bill leading to overcriminalization and mass
incarceration of people of color. It talks about the bill
disproportionately impacting people in communities of color.
I think our country has had some, I think, very constructive
conversations of late relating to these issues of mass incarceration
and overcriminalization, and I think this bill sets us back in terms of
those conversations that we have been having.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce
Committee, a good friend and a leader on this issue.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from New
York for yielding me this time.
Madam Speaker, I include in the Record the following letters of
support for H.R. 2339:
First, a letter from 76 leading public health organizations; second,
a letter from the NAACP; third, a letter from the National Medical
Association; and fourth, a letter from public health organizations
specifically supporting the menthol prohibition.
February 4, 2020.
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative: We are writing to express our strong
support for H.R. 2339, the Reversing the Youth Tobacco
Epidemic Act of 2019. This legislation will address the
current youth e-cigarette epidemic that is undermining the
progress made in reducing youth tobacco use.
Use of e-cigarettes by youth has escalated rapidly in
recent years, placing a new generation at risk of nicotine
addiction and tobacco use. Between 2017 and 2019, e-cigarette
use more than doubled among high school students (from 11.7%
to 27.5%) and tripled among middle school students (from 3.3%
to 10.5%). More than 5.3 million middle and high school
students used e-cigarettes in 2019, an alarming increase of
more than 3 million in two years. Use of other tobacco
products, including cigarettes, cigars and hookah, is also a
serious problem. Tobacco use remains the leading preventable
cause of death in the United States and is responsible for
approximately $170 billion in health care costs each year.
The Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act provides a
much-needed response to this serious public health problem.
Its prohibition on flavored tobacco products, including
flavored e-cigarettes, flavored cigars, and menthol
cigarettes, is needed to stop tobacco companies from
targeting and addicting kids with enticing flavors, such as
gummy bear and cotton candy. Flavors mask the harsh taste of
tobacco and make it easier for kids to start to use a tobacco
product and to become addicted.
[[Page H1281]]
The bill's prohibition on flavored e-cigarettes is all the
more important because the Administration's recently released
policy on flavored e-cigarettes will leave thousands of
flavored e-liquids and devices on the market. Flavors are a
key reason for widespread youth use of e-cigarettes. Ninety-
seven percent of current youth e-cigarette users have used a
flavored e-cigarette in the past month, and seven out of ten
said they used e-cigarettes ``because they come in flavors I
like.''
The bill's prohibition on menthol cigarettes, flavored
cigars, and other flavored tobacco products will also help
protect kids and public health. More than half of youth
smokers--and seven in ten African American youth smokers--
smoke menthol cigarettes. As a result of decades of pervasive
tobacco industry marketing, 85 percent of African-American
smokers smoke menthol cigarettes, and menthol is a likely
contributor to the higher rates of tobacco-caused death and
disease experienced by African Americans. A 2013 Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) analysis concluded that menthol
cigarettes increase youth initiation, increase nicotine
addiction, and make it harder for smokers to quit. Cigars are
also available in a wide variety of flavors that make them
more attractive to kids. More than one million high school
students smoke cigars.
In addition to its prohibition on flavored tobacco
products, the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act
includes a number of other provisions that will help to
reduce youth use of e-cigarettes and use of other tobacco
products, including prohibiting online sales of most tobacco
products, addressing inappropriate marketing and advertising,
and ensuring that FDA will promptly implement the graphic
health warnings on cigarette packs and advertising that are
required under the 2009 Tobacco Control Act.
Youth use of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products is a
problem that will not resolve itself. It will require action
by Congress. The Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act
provides the comprehensive response that is needed. We urge
you to support this important legislation when it comes to
the House floor.
Sincerely,
AASA, The School Superintendents Association; Academy of
General Dentistry; Action on Smoking & Health; African
American Tobacco Control Leadership Council; American Academy
of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology; American Academy of Oral
and Maxillofacial Radiology; American Academy of
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery; American Academy of
Pediatrics; American Association for Cancer Research.
American Association for Dental Research; American
Association for Respiratory Care; American Cancer Society
Cancer Action Network; American College Health Association;
American College of Cardiology; American College of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine; American Dental
Association; American Federation of School Administrators;
American Federation of Teachers; American Heart Association.
American Lung Association; American Medical Association;
American Public Health Association; American School Counselor
Association; American School Health Association (ASHA);
American Society of Addiction Medicine; American Thoracic
Society; Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights; Association of
Educational Service Agencies; Association of Maternal & Child
Health Programs.
Association of School Business Officials International;
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health;
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
(ASTHO); Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and
Neonatal Nurses; Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America;
Big Cities Health Coalition; Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids;
Catholic Health Association of the United States; Children's
Wisconsin; ClearWay Minnesota.
Common Sense Media; Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of
America's (CADCA); Eta Sigma Gamma--National Health Education
Honorary; First Focus Campaign for Children; International
Association for the Study of Lung Cancer; March of Dimes;
Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation; NAACP; National
African American Tobacco Prevention Network; National
Association of County and City Health Officials.
National Association of Elementary School Principals;
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners;
National Association of School Nurses; National Association
of Secondary School Principals; National Association of
Social Workers; National Black Nurses Association; National
Center for Health Research; National Coalition for Cancer
Survivorship; National Education Association; National
Hispanic Medical Association.
National Medical Association; National Network of Public
Health Institutes; National Rural Education Advocacy
Collaborative; National Rural Education Association; Oncology
Nursing Society; Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe);
Prevent Cancer Foundation.
Public Health Solutions; SHAPE America; Society for
Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions; Society for
Public Health Education; Students Against Destructive
Decisions; The Society of State Leaders of Health and
Physical Education; The Society of Thoracic Surgeons; Trinity
Health; Trust for America's Health; U.S. PIRG.
____
NAACP,
Washington Bureau,
Washington, DC, October 16, 2019.
Re NAACP Support for H.R. 2339, the ``Reversing the Youth
Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019''.
Hon. Frank Pallone,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Pallone: On behalf of the NAACP, our nation's
oldest, largest and most widely-recognized grassroots-based
civil rights organization, I would like to thank you for your
leadership in introducing H.R. 2339, the ``Reversing the
Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019.'' Nearly all tobacco use
begins during youth and young adulthood--which is a crucial
period for the development of the human brain. Your
legislation would help put a stop to tobacco use by including
a ban on all characterizing flavors of tobacco products,
which are often created to appeal to the younger market.
As was noted in our 2016 NAACP resolution, ``Support State
and Local Restrictions on the Sale of Flavored Tobacco
Products,'' ``the tobacco industry has a well-documented
history of developing and marketing brands targeted to
African Americans and their youth'' and further that ``the
tobacco industry manipulated the manufacturing of cigarettes
to ensure the uptake and continued use of tobacco, especially
by AfricanAmerican young people and other vulnerable
populations for many years.'' Your legislation makes clear
that the proliferation of slick new products purposefully
designed to appeal to young people to get them addicted to
nicotine and tobacco should not, and will not, be tolerated.
The use of tobacco and nicotine has evolved since that
first Surgeon General's report. A quick Google search will
lead you to an array of products online, including
cigarettes, cigars, smoking pipes, and the most recent
addition--e-cigarettes. These e-cigarettes are now available
in many flavors and studies show that flavor choices like
mint, candy, fruit, or chocolate draw the interest of teens
in middle school and high school. Unfortunately, while
combustible cigarette use among teens has declined over the
past two decades, there is a widespread--and false--
perception that e-cigarettes are safe.
This false belief threatens any progress we have made in
combatting this controllable public health threat. Recent
data shows that over 3.6 million youth used e-cigarettes in
2018, making this product the most commonly used tobacco
product on the market.
Flavored e-cigarettes have driven the youth epidemic, and
more than half of youth smokers--including seven out of ten
African-American youth smokers--smoke menthol cigarettes, so
it's time to take these products off the market once and for
all. States and cities are standing up and taking action, and
we believe our federal government should do the same.
Thank you again for your leadership on this important
issue, and for your concern for the health and well-being of
future generations.
Sincerely,
Hilary O. Shelton,
Director, NAACP Washington Bureau & Senior Vice President
for Policy and Advocacy.
____
National Medical Association,
Silver Spring, MD, April 16, 2019.
NMA Applauds the Introduction of Legislation to Ban the
Sale of All Flavored Tobacco Products, including Menthol
Cigarettes and Flavored Cigars
The National Medical Association strongly supports the
Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019 legislation
introduced today. This would prohibit the sale of all
flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes and
flavored cigars. We applaud Representative Frank Pallone (D-
NJ) for introducing the bill and taking this important step
forward.
As the collective voice of African-American physicians, we
know that banning menthol cigarettes will save lives in our
community. Smoking-related illnesses are the number one cause
of death in the African-American community and approximately
45,000 African Americans die each year from smoking-related
diseases. Further, more than 85 percent of African-American
smokers use menthol cigarettes. According to a 2013 report by
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), when compared to
non-mentholated cigarette use, the ``cooling and anesthetic
properties'' of mentholated cigarette use increases smoking
initiation and the likelihood of becoming addicted in
children and adults and decreases success in quitting
smoking.
As reported by the Surgeon General in a 1994 report by the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 90 percent of
smokers first started smoking by age 18. Also, as reported by
B. K. Ambrose in a 2015 article of The Journal of the
American Medical Association (JAMA), a majority of the youth
ages 12-17 first tried flavored tobacco products and that
flavoring was the leading reason for their tobacco use.
For years the tobacco industry has aggressively promoted
menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products in
African-American communities. Taking action to ban menthol
cigarettes is long overdue and the NMA requests that Congress
move swiftly to take up this bill and save lives. To that
end, increased funding should be earmarked to increase
smoking-cessation initiatives
[[Page H1282]]
and increased promotion of same in African American
communities. Our support of this legislation is for the
betterment of the public health.
The National Medical Association is the collective voice of
African American physicians and the leading force for parity
and justice in medicine. The NMA is the oldest organization
of African American professionals in America representing the
over 50,000 African American physicians and the patients we
serve in the United States and its territories.
Niva Lubin-Johnson, M.D., FACP,
President.
____
October 16, 2019.
Hon. Frank Pallone,
Chairman, Committee on Energy & Commerce, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Hon. Greg Walden,
Ranking Member, Committee on Energy & Commerce, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Pallone and Ranking Member Walden: We write
in support of prohibiting menthol cigarettes, which is a key
part of the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act (H.R.
2339). There is overwhelming scientific evidence that menthol
cigarettes have had a profound adverse effect on public
health. Removing them from the market would drive down
tobacco use and the death and disease it causes, particularly
among youth and African Americans.
Menthol cigarettes are popular with youth. Over half of
youth smokers--and seven in ten African American youth
smokers--smoke menthol cigarettes. Menthol cools and numbs
the throat and reduces the harshness of tobacco, making it
easier and more appealing for youth to start smoking. In
2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a
report finding that menthol cigarettes lead to increased
smoking initiation among youth and young adults, greater
addiction, and decreased success in quitting smoking. An FDA
scientific advisory committee concluded, ``Removal of menthol
cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health
in the United States.''
Smoking-related illnesses are the number-one cause of death
in the African American community and claim the lives of
approximately 45,000 African Americans each year. Menthol
cigarettes are a major reason why. Eighty-five percent of all
African American smokers smoke menthol cigarettes, which is a
direct result of a decades-long marketing campaign by the
tobacco industry aimed at the African American community.
African Americans generally have higher levels of nicotine
dependence as a consequence of their preference for
mentholated cigarettes.
Estimates of the harm menthol cigarettes cause to African
Americans are alarming. The FDA advisory committee found that
the marketing and availability of menthol cigarettes
increases the overall prevalence of smoking and reduces
smoking cessation among African Americans. In 2011, it
estimated that by 2020, 4,700 excess deaths in the African-
American community will be attributable to menthol
cigarettes, and over 460,000 African Americans will have
started smoking because of menthol cigarettes.
Our organizations fully support the menthol prohibition in
the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act. It will protect
public health and save lives. We look forward to working with
you to advance this bill.
Sincerely,
Action on Smoking & Health, African American Tobacco
Control Leadership Council, American Academy of Oral and
Maxillofacial Pathology, American Academy of Pediatrics,
American Association for Dental Research, American
Association for Respiratory Care, American Cancer Society
Cancer Action Network, American College of Physicians,
American College of Preventive Medicine, American Dental
Education Association, American Heart Association.
American Lung Association, American Medical Association,
American Public Health Association, American Society of
Addiction Medicine, American Society of Clinical Oncology,
American Thoracic Society, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights,
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health,
Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses,
Big Cities Health Coalition, Black Lives/ Black Lungs,
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, CATCH Global Foundation, Inc.
Catholic Health Association of the United States, Clearway
Minnesota, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, Counter
Tools, Eta Sigma Gamma--National Health Education Honorary,
LUNGevity Foundation, March of Dimes, National African
American Tobacco Prevention Network, National Association of
County & City Health Officials.
National Association of Pediatric Nurse, Practitioners,
National Association of School Nurses, National Center for
Health Research, National Medical Association, National
Network of Public Health Institutes, Oncology Nursing
Society, Prevent Cancer Foundation, Respiratory Health
Association, Society for Public Health Education, Society for
Research on Nicotine & Tobacco, Students Against Destructive
Decisions.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, supporters have emphasized that this bill
is urgently needed to combat the youth e-cigarette epidemic that is
getting worse every day and is being driven by flavored products. I am
proud of the broad coalition of support that this legislation has
engendered, and I agree with these organizations that the time is now
to ensure we protect our kids and the next generation.
Madam Speaker, if we don't pass this bill today, all of the gains we
have made in the past to prevent tobacco use and nicotine addiction
will simply be wiped out--will be wiped out.
I urge my colleagues, support this legislation. This is the best
thing we can do to prevent this youth epidemic.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, as we have this exchange here,
it is interesting to dig a little deeper here and certainly realize
that there is a carve-out. I think we heard earlier there is a carve-
out, actually, that would exempt the high-end cigars that would not
have to be subject to this tax. And I guess I struggle to think why
that would be if there are revenue concerns here and, you know, looking
at a balance and so forth.
I just hope that we can end up with good public policy, but certainly
this is not the vehicle to do that.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I just want to clarify, again, that
premium cigars are already subject to a Federal excise tax, and there
is no carve-out for the taxes on premium cigars.
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York
(Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney), a good friend, the chairwoman of the
Committee on Oversight and Reform.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong
support, and I thank Chairman Pallone for his incredible leadership on
this.
Madam Speaker, I also want to thank Congressman Krishnamoorthi, who
has been a leader on the youth vaping epidemic as the chair of the
Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy on the Oversight
Committee. He has led a months' long investigation into e-cigarette
companies, which revealed mountains of evidence that these companies
are illegally targeting children in advertising campaigns.
And the way they target children is by selling flavored tobacco
products with kid-friendly flavors like mango and mint. This is
despicable and will cause long-term damage to countless children's
lives.
This bill is very important because it will ban the manufacture and
sale of all flavored tobacco products, which will make it much more
difficult for companies to target children. This is extremely
important. It will save lives.
I strongly support the bill and urge my colleagues for a ``yes''
vote.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of
my time.
As we wrap up this discussion, I think perhaps both sides have good
intentions. This would not be the first time that both sides would have
good intentions, and the outcome would accomplish the exact opposite
from what we would want.
We want youth to not vape, to not smoke. It is dangerous. And,
certainly, I think we should also respect law-abiding adults exercising
the choices that they wish to make in a reasonable context.
Madam Speaker, I think that this bill would actually set us back in
many ways. As I mentioned earlier, the National Bureau of Economic
Research found that Minnesota's efforts to bring so-called parity to
the taxation of cigarettes and e-cigarettes actually flatlined the
State's smoking-cessation trend, while other States that didn't raise
taxes continue to see smoking decrease. That is very telling. And I
think it is very instructive for all of us here as we formulate policy
and, hopefully, keep future generations in mind with good public policy
along the way.
Madam Speaker, I certainly urge a vote ``no'' on this bill, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, every Democrat, every Republican in this House knows
there is a problem with youth vaping in the United States of America.
Every single one of us recognizes that something must be done, and
today we are taking important action.
I want to point out that this is not a new debate. It is pretty much
the same debate we went through with smoking years ago.
I used to serve as the Nassau County Executive in New York State when
the
[[Page H1283]]
smoking issue was a massive debate in this country, and we heard the
same arguments about Big Government. We heard the same arguments about
taxing. We heard the same arguments about choice. And we can't fall for
it again.
We saw it happen in this country with smoking, that for so many years
we ignored the fact that smoking was the number one killer in this
country, and it took us decades to act.
Now that we see youth vaping growing in this country every single
day, efforts that are being made to market specifically to young
children every single day, we must act to try and protect our families
and to try and protect our children.
Again, I want to point out that the Protecting American Lungs Act,
which is part of this bill, has the support of over 50 public health,
medical, and education organizations, including the American Academy of
Nursing, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Cancer
Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association, the
American Lung Association, the American Medical Association, and the
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Neal. I want to thank
Chairman Pallone. I want to thank all of the leaders, such as Donna
Shalala, former-Secretary Shalala, and Raja Krishnamoorthi and all of
my colleagues who have spoken here today.
I urge my colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, to act now on
behalf of the children of our country.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 866, the previous question is ordered on
the bill, as amended.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further
consideration of H.R. 2339 is postponed.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record these
additional letters in opposition to H.R. 2339.
6 Reasons To Oppose HR 2339 (Pallone) Total Flavored Tobacco Product
Prohibition
1. This bill bans all flavored tobacco products.
That means menthol cigarettes (36% of market), flavored
moist smokeless tobacco (60% of market), flavored cigars (26%
of market), and most pipe tobacco.
2. The age for tobacco was just raised to 21 nationwide.
Teen vapor trends need to be reversed. That's why Congress
just raised the minimum age for all tobacco products to 21.
Also, the FDA is now taking concrete steps to remove child-
friendly vapor products from the market. We should give these
policies time to work.
3. Adults 21 + can choose flavors in alcohol and cannabis
(where legal), and they should be able to choose flavors in
tobacco.
Adults 21 and older buy alcohol (and cannabis where it's
legal). They are taxpayers, voters, and can serve in the
military. Taking this decision away from adults 21 and over
won't stop the behavior--it will just move it into the
illegal market. We should respect adults and let them make
these decisions.
4. Prohibition doesn't work. It never has.
This bill would criminalize the sale and distribution of
these products for adults. That's Prohibition. In the 1920s,
Alcohol Prohibition created an illegal market, increased
crime, burdened law enforcement, and endangered the public.
5. Youth use of traditional products is DOWN. Underage
vapor rates are too high. But underage use of traditional
tobacco products is at historic lows. Longstanding public
health efforts are working--so why take the risk of
criminalizing these products and moving them into an illegal
market where there is no regulation?
6. Banning large segments of the tobacco market guts
government revenues.
Banning the sale of flavored tobacco products to adults
would impact over a third of the industry, devastating jobs
and the economy:
Over 250,000 retail and other jobs at risk
Over $13.6 billion in federal, state, and local tax
revenues at risk annually (see states detail below)
____
Americans for Tax Reform
Today, Americans for Tax Reform issued a Key Vote Alert in
opposition to H.R. 2339.
Here are the top 6 key facts you need to know before the
vote on the full House floor vote on H.R. 2339 (Reversing the
Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act) this week:
1. Prohibition Never Works, But it Does Create Profitable
Criminal Enterprises.
2. Congress Just Passed Tobacco 21 to Address Youth Use of
Tobacco Products.
3. A Flavored Tobacco Product Ban Would Kill Over 400,000
Jobs.
4. State, Local, and Federal Government Would Lose over
$130 Billion in Tobacco Tax Revenue Over 10 Years.
5. Criminalizing The Sale of Some Tobacco Products Would
Reverse Progress on Criminal Justice Reform.
6. This Bill is a Tax Increase.
Rep. Frank Pallone's flavored tobacco product ban bill is
opposed by Americans for Tax Reform, Citizens Against
Government Waste, FreedomWorks, Heritage Action, Taxpayers
Protection Alliance, Independent Women's Forum, the
Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Consumer Choice Center,
and Reason, among others.
But it's also opposed by the American Civil Liberties
Union, the Center for Popular Democracy, the Law Enforcement
Action Partnership, the Drug Policy Alliance, the National
Association of Social Workers, the National Association of
Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Al Sharpton's National Action
Network. You can read their letter here.
Here's what you need to known regarding the inclusion of a
new national tax on nicotine e-cigarettes and vapor products
(Section 501 of the bill):
The tax imposed by this bill would result in a $5.01 tax on
an average 30 milliliter bottle of refillable vapor product
liquid that contains 6 milligrams of nicotine, the type of
products many smokers purchase in thousands of vape shops in
America. For multi-packs of ``closed-system'' products sold
in 150,000 convenience stores, the tax would be range between
$3-5 per pack. Compare that to the federal excise tax on
combustible tobacco cigarettes, which is $1.01 per pack.
Taxing reduced risk electronic cigarettes at a significantly
higher rate than cigarettes works at cross purposes with both
the government and free market's ongoing effort to reduce the
harm associated with cigarette use. That's what this bill
does.
Note: because this language was previously a stand-alone
bill (H.R. 4742), the impact on taxpayers has changed since
it was first scored. Banning products that +80% of adult
consumers use diminishes the likelihood of collecting much
money. This bill is still a net tax hike and will be scored
as such.
Americans for Tax Reform urges you to reject H.R. 2339,
which would create the biggest black market in America since
the 1920's, fueling criminal enterprises without any good
reason for doing so. This bill is a tax increase and
represents a moral crusade against disfavored consumer
choices without respect to the tools that already exist that
could address some of the concerns of proponents.
____
Taxpayers Protection Alliance,
Washington, DC, February 12, 2020.
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative: On behalf of millions of taxpayers and
consumers across the United States, the Taxpayers Protection
Alliance (TPA) urges you to vote against the Reversing the
Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act (H.R. 2339), which would, amongst
other things, impose a full ban on the sale of flavored e-
cigarette products throughout the U.S. H.R. 2339 would also
ban menthol-flavored conventional tobacco. These deeply
misguided proposals would lead to the demise of millions of
Americans by forcing smokers across the country to continue
using deadly combustible cigarettes.
The scientific evidence is overwhelming and
incontrovertible that vaping saves lives. Flavors provide an
effective exit ramp for adults to quit smoking but have no
impact upon teen uptake. Smoking rates are at their lowest in
history and dropping dramatically. Furthermore, there is no
gateway from vaping to smoking, and menthol cigarettes have
no demonstrable impact on youth uptake.
Countless studies conclude that e-cigarettes are a proven
and safe way for people to quit smoking. A recent U.S.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine
report on e-cigarettes found that, based on the available
evidence, ``e-cigarettes are likely to be far less harmful
than combustible tobacco cigarettes.'' The United Kingdom
(UK) Government and all major medical bodies now
``encourage'' smokers to use e-cigarettes as a quit-smoking
aid. This is not surprising because of the overwhelming
evidence on the effectiveness of a product that is ``around
95 percent less harmful than smoking,'' a figure confirmed by
Public Health England (part of the U.K. government) and
reaffirmed every year since 2015. Similarly, air quality
studies have found that e-cigarettes pose no threat to
bystanders via ``passive smoking.'' Hundreds of studies have
been published in the course of the last few years, measuring
everything from cardiovascular health to lung capacity and
regeneration. In fact, the only study to have found any
negative impact of vaping on heart health has been thoroughly
debunked; it was discovered that the heart attacks it claimed
were correlated to vaping happened ten years prior to the
individuals taking up vaping.
So powerful is the life-saving potential of these products
that, according to the most comprehensive peer-reviewed
research on the effects of switching coordinated by the
George Washington University Medical Center, 6.6 million
lives could be saved over the next ten years if a majority of
U.S. smokers quit smoking through the use of e-cigarettes.
[[Page H1284]]
In addition, numerous studies have shown that e-cigarettes
are considerably more effective than traditional nicotine
replacement therapies. In January 2019, the New England
Journal of Medicine reported the results of the largest and
most comprehensive of these, finding unequivocally that e-
cigarettes are nearly twice as effective as conventional
nicotine replacement products (such as patches and gum) for
quitting smoking.
As a result of the introduction of vaping products, smoking
rates in the United States have plummeted in recent years. In
2018, 13.7 percent of U.S. adults smoked, a sharp decline
from 20.9 percent in 2005. Most of this decline has occurred
since the introduction of e-cigarettes, as smokers now have
more options than ever to kick their deadly habit. In
particular, 5.8 percent of high school students smoke, down
from more than 15 percent in 2011.
Contrary to anti-vaping arguments, there is no evidence
that e-cigarettes provide a ``gateway'' to smoking for youths
as they enter adulthood. This has been demonstrated through
numerous studies which instead find that vaporized nicotine
has almost exclusively been taken up by smokers attempting to
quit or lower their intake, therefore acting as a ``gateway''
away from tobacco smoking. Only 1 percent of daily users of
e-cigarettes were not previous smokers or tobacco users. A
2015 survey of nonsmoking teens aged 13-17 found interest
levels in flavored e-cigarettes of 0.4 out of a possible
score of 10. An April 2019 study funded by the UK's National
Institute for Health Research and led by Cardiff University
concluded that ``fears over a resurgence in youth tobacco
smoking because of the rise in e-cigarette use are largely
unfounded to date'' and that there is ``no evidence'' that e-
cigarettes are causing young persons to commence smoking
traditional combustible tobacco. In October 2019 the
prestigious medical journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research
found that, ``E-cigarette use does not appear to be
associated with current, continued smoking.'' As such,
ecigarettes are a gateway away from smoking and give teens
who were already smokers a safer alternative.
While flavors may be helping conventional smokers quit
smoking, the evidence shows that flavors play little to no
role in inducing middle-and-high school students to use e-
cigarettes. A 2016 study published in Tobacco Control used a
national phone survey to ascertain teenage usage and interest
in e-cigarettes and attempted to gauge the role of flavor in
increasing interest in these products. The researchers found
that, of teenagers that have never smoked, only 3.3 percent
expressed interest in trying e-cigarettes and that there was
no evidence for flavors driving e-cigarette uptake. Fewer
than a third of high school students self-report to care
about flavors, while academic studies have found that teenage
non-smokers' ``willingness to try plain versus flavored
varieties did not differ.''
Advocates of greater vaping restrictions continue to ignore
the evidence and cite instances of e-cigarettes allegedly
inducing lung illnesses. But, as confirmed by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and corroborated by numerous
peer-reviewed academic publications such as the New England
Journal of Medicine, every case of illness and tragic death
has been as a result of illicit, black-market THC vaping
devices bought on the streets and laced with substances such
as Vitamin E acetone.
There is no evidence whatsoever that menthol cigarettes are
in any way more harmful or dangerous than conventional
combustible cigarettes. There is similarly no evidence that
menthol cigarettes are in any way more likely to be a
contributing factor to people taking up smoking. A recent
analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and
Health found that states with more menthol cigarette
consumption relative to all cigarettes actually have lower
rates of child smoking. In addition, econometric analysis
consistently shows consistent nonpredictive relationships
between relative menthol cigarette consumption rates and use
of any age group. Youth menthol smoking has already become
less popular than non-menthol smoking, and on the current
trend line, youth usage of menthol cigarettes will be at a
rate of near-zero within the next few years. Curtailing
menthol cigarettes will only succeed in damaging already-
fraught race relations. More than 80 percent of black smokers
prefer menthol cigarettes, compared to less than 30 percent
of white smokers. As the tragic case of Eric Garner shows,
tobacco prohibition can easily escalate into deadly
encounters with law enforcement. Policymakers must consider
racial disparities in the consumption of tobacco products,
and refrain from restrictive policies with myriad unintended
consequences.
Illicit tobacco is lucrative source of funding for
terrorism, with the U.S. State Department having described
international tobacco smuggling as a ``threat to national
security.'' Their report detailed how ``we know that 15 of
the world's leading terrorist groups regularly rely on
illicit cigarettes for funding, including al Qaeda, the
Taliban, Hezbollah, and Hamas. Illicit cigarettes are now
second only to the heroin trade in helping fund some of the
Taliban militias.''
TPA urges you to carefully examine the facts and science
attesting toe-cigarettes' efficacy as a powerful quit-smoking
aid and reject this grossly irresponsible bill.
Regards,
Tim Andrews,
Director.
____
[From Tax Foundation, Feb. 12, 2020]
Banning Flavored Tobacco Could Have Unintended Consequences
(By Ulrik Boesen)
Several states have considered bans on flavored tobacco and
nicotine products this legislative session, spurred by
increased vaping by minors. Among them are California, Maine,
Maryland, New York, Vermont, and Virginia. There is also a
federal proposal to ban flavors in tobacco products. While
youth uptake is a very real concern which deserves the
public's attention, outright bans could impede historically
high smoking cessation rates. Lawmakers must thread the
needle between protecting adult smoker's ability to switch
and barring minor's access to nicotine products.
Aside from public health concerns, a ban on flavored
tobacco, especially when including cigarettes, would have
significant tax implications and result in unintended
consequences such as increased smuggling. Tobacco excise
taxes are already an unstable source of tax revenue. Further
narrowing the tobacco tax base by banning a portion of
tobacco sales altogether could worsen the instability of this
revenue source while driving up the costs of administration
and law enforcement associated with the ban, especially if
the lost revenue is made up by raising the tax rate on the
remaining tobacco tax base.
Cigarettes make up about 82.5 percent of the total tobacco
market and even more of the excise tax revenue due to higher
rates on cigarettes versus other tobacco products. According
to sales data, about 35 percent of the U.S. cigarette market
is flavored, which means that 35 percent of the revenue
collected would be affected by a ban. The flavor used in
cigarettes is almost exclusively menthol.
Below is a calculation of implicated revenue in the states
that are considering a ban. The numbers are based on tax
collections and sales of menthol cigarettes. On top of this
number one could add reduced revenues from chewing tobacco,
cigars, cigarillos, and in some states flavored vapor liquid.
STATE REVENUE FROM CIGARETTE EXCISE TAXES ON MENTHOL CIGARETTES
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revenue from
Menthol Smokers Menthol Total Cigarette
State As % of Smokers Cigarettes Excise Revenue
(FY2018) (FY2018) (FY2018)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
California................................................ 28.1% $528,848,463 $1,882,023,000
New York.................................................. 38.6% $414,418,000 $1,073,0622,000
Maine..................................................... 17.5% $20,851,000 $119,146,000
Maryland.................................................. 54.3% $180,080,000 $331,639,000
Vermont................................................... 17.6% $10,839,000 $61,584,000
Virginia.................................................. 42.7% $59,350,000 $138,992,000
Federal*.................................................. 35.2% $4,268,355,168 $12,126,009,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Implicated revenue for the federal government if menthol cigarettes were federally banned. Source: Nielsen
Consumer Data; Orzechowski and Walker, ``The Tax Burden on Tobacco,'' Volume 53, 2018; Tax Foundation
calculations.
The figures indicating revenue from menthol cigarettes
reflect the loss of revenue if all current consumers of
menthol cigarettes were to quit. That is almost certainly not
going to happen. In reality, some will quit, some will
substitute to other nicotine products, and some will access
the products illegally. The last option is the most fiscally
problematic because states will not only incur lost revenue,
they will also take on increased costs related to enforcement
of the ban. While it is impossible to estimate the exact
revenue effect, it is clear that revenues will decline.
The impact differs significantly from state to state with
Maryland and Virginia seeing the largest effect. This is
likely due to larger minority populations in those states. In
a national survey in 2015, 76.8 percent of non-Hispanic black
adult smokers reported smoking menthol products.
As I argue in my latest publication, there are several
problems with bans. The Pigouvian concept of internalizing
externalities suggests that inefficient market outcomes can
be addressed by an excise tax equal to the negative
externality. In other words, using taxes to price in societal
cost related to a product, such as increased governmental
medical expenses from cancers caused by tobacco smoke. This
is part of the idea behind levying excise taxes on tobacco
products. However, flavored nicotine products are helping
adult smokers quit cigarettes and switch to less harmful
products.
[[Page H1285]]
Several states seem to have had this in mind and have taken
a lighter approach to the taxation of vaping products to keep
an incentive for smokers to move towards less harmful vaping.
Thus, on the one hand there is an argument for lower taxation
on vaping to move people away from smoking. On the other hand
a ban on flavored products would push users away from vaping
and back towards more harmful traditional tobacco products or
into the illegal market.
In fact, a recent publication found that 32,400 smokers in
Minnesota were deterred from quitting cigarettes after the
state implemented a 95 percent excise tax on vapor products.
Another study concluded that vapor products are highly
elastic and ``for every one standard e-cigarette pod (a
device that contains liquid nicotine in e-cigarettes) of 0.7
ml no longer purchased as a result of an e-cigarette tax, the
same tax increases traditional cigarettes purchased by 6.2
extra packs.''
In the same way that exceptionally high tax rates on
products can create the incentives for illicit activities, a
ban certainly opens the door to contraband and bootleg
activities. Thus, bans are likely to hurt public health by
limiting adult smokers' ability to quit cigarettes and fuel
black market activity similar to when states levy heavy
taxation on cigarettes. Local bans in particular invite
smuggling activity in the same way that occurs when
localities have high cigarette excise taxes.
Cigarettes are already being smuggled into and around the
country in large quantities, and nicotine-containing liquid
is coming into the U.S. from questionable sources. Black
market liquids and cigarettes have the problem of being
extremely unsafe and cost governments billions in lost taxes.
The recent serious pulmonary diseases have prompted the FDA
to publish a warning about black market THC-containing
liquid. Other reports of illicit products containing
dangerous chemicals resulting in serious conditions have been
released over the last months.
On top of the dangers to consumers, the legal market would
suffer, as untaxed and unregulated products have significant
competitive advantages over high-priced legal products. This
would impact not only the large number of small business
owners operating over 10,000 vape shops around the country
but also convenience stores and gas stations relying heavily
on vapers as well as tobacco sales. Policymakers should not
lose sight of the law of unintended consequences as they set
tax rates and regulatory regimes for nicotine products.
These unintended consequences have a real cost which the
taxpayers would have to cover, while the ban would result in
less revenue from the legal and regulated market. In states
like California, where tobacco tax revenue is earmarked to
certain government programs, the impact on revenue could lead
to underfunded programs which will need funding from other
sources.
The prospect of a ban on flavored tobacco and nicotine
products highlights the complications of contradictory tax
and regulatory policy, the instability of excise taxes that
go beyond pricing in the cost of externalities, and the
public risks of driving consumers into the black market
through excessive taxation or regulation.
Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R.
2339, the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco
Epidemic Act of 2019 and the efforts by the House to curb the youth e-
cigarette and vaping epidemic.
Congress must take strong action to stop the marketing of tobacco
products to children and end the e-cigarette epidemic among our youth.
In 2009, Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco
Control Act (Tobacco Control Act), which provided the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) with authority to regulate certain tobacco
products marketed towards children. And today, the House is passing the
Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act
introduced by Representatives Pallone and Shalala, which will
strengthen the FDA's authority to regulate tobacco products marketed
towards children, particularly the insidious e-cigarettes that have
swept the country in the decade since we passed the Tobacco Control
Act. The legislative intent is rooted in the important objective of
preventing youth access to tobacco products and stopping big tobacco
and others from preying on our children by developing a new generation
of nicotine-addicted smokers.
For years, many of my colleagues and I have worked with FDA and
stakeholders to ensure that traditional, handcrafted premium cigars
that are not used by or marketed to children are not swept up in an
overbroad regulation. We introduced bipartisan legislation this
Congress, as we have in last four Congresses, that reinforces the
legislative intent of the Tobacco Control Act and narrowly defines
traditional non-flavored handcrafted premium cigars not marketed to
children. Our bill currently has 78 bipartisan cosponsors, and last
Congress, our legislation H.R. 564 had 149 bipartisan cosponsors.
I would like to thank Chairman Pallone for working with me and others
to address what I believe could have been unintended consequences of
H.R. 2339 of subjecting traditional large and premium cigars not
marketed to children to overbroad regulation. The bill as amended in
the Energy and Commerce Committee correctly exempts from certain
regulations this small subset of traditional, handcrafted cigars that
are not marketed to children. The FDA would continue to have the
authority to subject traditional and large premium cigars to important
FDA regulations like minimum age requirements; prohibition of
adulterated and misbranded products; requirements to register and
report products and ingredients; FDA inspections every two years; good
manufacturing practices and tobacco product standards; user fees; and
the FDA should have enforcement powers for these.
While it was appropriate to provide exemption from certain provisions
for traditional large and premium cigars in the bill, the definition of
traditional large and premium cigars contained in H.R. 2339 should be
updated to conform with the definition in H.R. 1854, to wit:
A traditional large and premium cigar should be defined as any roll
of tobacco that is wrapped in 100 percent leaf tobacco, bunched with
100 percent tobacco filler, contains no filter, tip, flavor additive,
or non-tobacco mouthpiece, and weighs at least 6 pounds per 1,000
count. It also must either have a 100 percent leaf tobacco binder and
be handrolled, or have a homogenized tobacco leaf binder and be made in
the United States using human hands to lay the 100 percent leaf tobacco
wrapper onto only one machine that bunches, wraps, and caps each
individual cigar. And, it should explicitly exclude cigarettes or
little cigars, as defined by the FDA.
The above definition is essentially the definition from H.R. 2339 but
without the single cigar retail price provision. The price point
included in the bill has no rational basis for inclusion and a cigar
made consistent with the definition above meets the test of the type of
cigar not consumed by our youth. Had I had the opportunity to offer an
amendment, I would have proposed striking this arbitrary provision from
the legislation to ensure that the family cigar producers in my
district, across Florida and small business owners across the country
including the many mom and pop retail shops are not subjected to this
unnecessary job-killing arbitrary price that lacks a rational basis.
I look forward to continuing to work with the Senate, the FDA and to
press my own bill in the House, H.R. 1854, to ensure that any laws or
regulations that deal with traditional large and premium cigars are
consistent with our shared goals of preventing youth tobacco use,
stopping arbitrary or unintended regulation and protecting American
jobs.
Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, today, I rise in support of H.R.
2339 the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco
Epidemic Act of 2019. This critical legislation provides a
comprehensive approach to address the youth tobacco epidemic, which has
surged in recent years with the introduction of such new tobacco
products as e-cigarettes. The bill will prevent the loss of an entirely
new generation to a lifetime of nicotine addiction.
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death, disability,
and disease in the United States, and it is attributed to more than
480,000 deaths in the United States each year. Even more concerning is
the rapid escalation in youth e-cigarette use, as youth use of nicotine
in any form is unsafe and can seriously harm brain development and lead
to other forms of addiction. In 2019, 5.3 million middle and high
school students have reported to have used e-cigarettes. According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these recent increases
have erased the decline in any tobacco product use that occurred in
previous years.
As the first registered nurse elected to Congress, I am proud to
support the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco
Epidemic Act. Particularly, I am pleased to be joined by the American
Public Health Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, National
Medical Association, NAACP, and the National Black Nurses Association,
who have all shown their support for this critical legislation.
As representatives of Americans from all corners of our country, we
have a responsibility to protect the health and well-being of our
communities and especially our children. On behalf of my home state of
Texas, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2339.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I commend the House Energy and
Commerce Committee for including language in the Protecting American
Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019 (H.R. 2339)
to more appropriately treat premium cigars, which are marketed to and
enjoyed by adult consumers. However, a $12 per cigar price requirement
is arbitrary, impossible to enforce, and puts states like Pennsylvania
at a significant disadvantage.
Pennsylvania is home to small business premium cigar retailers,
importers, distributors, and farmers who grow tobacco used in hand-
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made cigars. The history of cigar tobacco farming in Pennsylvania dates
to the 1700s, and today, farmers in the Commonwealth produce the
coveted cigar leaf. Numerous premium cigar mail order companies are
based in Pennsylvania, due to the state's favorable business climate.
In fact, Pennsylvania is second in the nation in premium cigar industry
jobs, and my district is home to small businesses who proudly serve
their adult consumers.
The Commonwealth is also one of few states without an additional tax
on premium cigars. When I was in the Pennsylvania State Senate, I
fought against proposals to impose such a tax, which would have
crippled small businesses and hurt consumers. If a price requirement
like the one proposed in this bill were enacted, small businesses in my
district and across Pennsylvania would be disproportionately impacted,
as more products in their humidors would fall below $12 than products
in other states that are subject to higher taxes.
Madam Speaker, while I am grateful this bill acknowledges that
premium cigars are marketed and enjoyed solely by adults, a $12 price
requirement will devastate Pennsylvania's cigar industry. As Congress
and the Trump Administration continue to work to address important
issues related to regulation of tobacco products, I urge removal of an
arbitrary price point that picks winners and losers.
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