[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 201 (Wednesday, December 6, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5770-S5771]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Food and Drug Administration

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I have come to the floor many times to 
voice my frustration with the timid, ineffective job by the Food and 
Drug Administration in protecting American children and consumers from 
Big Tobacco. With new threats like vaping, the FDA has failed--utterly 
failed--to use its authority under the law to clear the market in the 
United States of unauthorized e-cigarettes. These addictive products 
are targeting children with sweet and fruity flavors. Yet the Food and 
Drug Administration has largely neglected its public health 
responsibility to regulate these products.
  But, today, I want to discuss an area where the FDA can make progress 
that has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives. Last 
month, the FDA submitted a regulation to the White House for final 
review. This proposed regulation would ban the sale of menthol 
cigarettes and prohibit the use of flavorings in cigars.
  Scientists have known for years that flavors play a powerful role in 
addicting people to tobacco by masking the harsh taste of their 
product, but when Congress banned the use of most flavors of tobacco in 
2009, Big Tobacco secured a loophole for menthol. Why? Addiction is 
profitable.
  For decades, menthol cigarettes, in particular, have been marketed 
aggressively to the African-American community in the United States, 
through free samples, sponsorship of cultural events, and heavy 
advertising. As a result, today--today--85 percent of Black smokers use 
menthol cigarettes, compared to 30 percent of White smokers.
  It is part of the reason why Black adults are 30 percent more likely 
to die from heart disease and 50 percent more likely to die from 
stroke, compared to White Americans.
  Right before Thanksgiving, I met in my office with Marsha Hike, who 
lives in Chicago. She was in Washington because November is Lung Cancer 
Awareness Month. She shared the fact that lung cancer is the No. 1 
cause of cancer death in America. The No. 1 cause of cancer death in 
America: lung cancer, killing more Americans than breast cancer, 
prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer combined.
  She met with me because six of her dearest family members have died 
from lung cancer due to smoking. I am glad there is greater attention 
today on topics like health disparities, equity, and the underlying 
factors for why Black people live sicker and die younger in America.
  FDA's proposal would eliminate the racial disparity among cancer 
deaths between Black and White Americans, saving 650,000 lives.
  I take this issue very personally. When I was a sophomore in high 
school, my father died of lung cancer. He was 53 years old. He spent 90 
days--almost 100 days--in the hospital before he died, and I was by his 
bedside regularly. It made a profound impact on me as a high school 
kid, and little did I know that I would be able to follow up on this 
issue when I came to the House of Representatives by passing 
legislation to ban smoking on airplanes and taking Big Tobacco on ever 
since. The battle continues.
  I know what the reaction is that the decision to ban menthol in 
cigarettes would be unpopular among the African-American population and 
may be reflected in the next vote. I think that is greatly exaggerated.
  The majority of the Members of the Black caucus in Congress support 
this ban on menthol. And I want to make it clear, they are peddling 
stories--Big Tobacco is--that we are going to go out and arrest African 
Americans if they use menthol cigarettes, but that is not the case at 
all. The FDA proposal would take all of the action against the 
producers of the cigarettes, not the consumers. The consumers are not 
drawn into this in terms of any legal liability nor should they be.

[[Page S5771]]

  The question is, do we care enough about these African Americans, 
their families, and their future to make an unpopular--to some--
decision to move forward to make America a healthier, safer place to 
live? I hope we do.

  I don't want any more families to experience the suffering that I 
went through and families do every day.
  The Biden administration has an incredible track record of taking on 
big challenges and delivering. It has launched the Cancer Moonshot, 
created a new Federal research Agency, ARPA-H, to accelerate cures for 
patients. President Biden has taken on the gun lobby and Big Pharma and 
secured important victories with the passage last year of the 
Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
  Now is the time to do the same against Big Tobacco, which is 
responsible for nearly half a million deaths per year. I urge the Biden 
administration to look carefully at the proposal from the FDA and 
swiftly finalize its rules on menthol and flavored cigars, which will 
save lives and reduce suffering, especially for communities of color.
  This is an issue that is personal to many Americans. We didn't choose 
it. Addiction led our family members to face illness and sometimes 
death. Are we going to do something for the next generation of African 
Americans who are being harassed in the advertising and marketing of 
this product to the detriment of their future?
  I hope that President Biden will do that.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican whip.