Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. DeFAZIO. Madam Speaker, I will vote in support of H.R. 2339, the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020.

Despite a previous years-long decline in youth tobacco use, we have witnessed a sharp rise in youth tobacco use and nicotine addiction in recent years. At the heart of this trend are flavored e-cigarettes, which Big Tobacco companies have marketed toward young people in their ongoing drive to increase their profits at the cost of public health.

I believe H.R. 2339 takes important steps toward tackling the youth tobacco epidemic and curtailing Big Tobacco's unfettered promotion of these highly addictive products, including closing loopholes in current law that cover traditional tobacco products but not e-cigarettes.

This includes H.R. 2339's provisions to prohibit the marketing, advertising, and promotion of e-cigarette products to individuals under 21 years of age; ban online sales of e-cigarettes; close a tax loophole for e-cigarettes by establishing tax parity with current tobacco taxes; apply graphic health warnings to cigarette packages; and provide funding for tobacco cessation research, therapies, and counseling, as well as for outreach and grants to medically underserved communities.

I also support provisions in H.R. 2339 which would waive Medicare's coinsurance requirements for colorectal cancer screening and increase access to asthma medications. While I will vote in support of H.R. 2339, I believe important improvements could have been made to strengthen the overall bill.

For example, in light of the legislation's ban on all tobacco flavors--including menthol--I strongly opposed the inclusion of a provision that creates a discriminatory exemption for premium cigars. This clearly unfair provision protects the tobacco habits of wealthier individuals--who use premium cigars at higher rates--while imposing new restrictions on tobacco products that low-income individuals and communities of color are more likely to use.

I also believe H.R. 2339 should have contained stronger provisions to alleviate criminal justice concerns that this legislation could disproportionately impact people of color, increase criminal penalties in state and localities across the country, and potentially encourage harmful police practices.

Additionally, while I am pleased H.R. 2339 takes vital steps to address the youth tobacco epidemic, this legislation unfortunately does not address the disturbing outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses and deaths that we witnessed in recent months. The CDC found that these deaths and illnesses stemmed primarily from black market THC-containing e-cigarettes with vitamin E acetate--an additive that can damage lungs when inhaled.

Despite these concerns, I believe the clear public health benefits of this legislation outweigh its faults. There is no time to waste. I will not stand idly by while corporate greed and Big Tobacco marketing tactics threaten to engulf yet another generation to the ravages of addiction, cancer, stunted brain development, damaged lungs, and more.

You can be sure I will work with my colleagues in the Senate to improve this legislation in order to put forward well-balanced legislation that can comprehensively address the youth tobacco epidemic

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