Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

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.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

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.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source