56 Health and Other Organizations Back Trump Administration Plan to Remove Flavored E-Cigarettes from the Market
September 24, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC – In a letter to President Trump, 56 public health, medical, parent, educational and other organizations today expressed strong support for the Administration’s plan to remove flavored e-cigarettes from the market and urged that the plan be swiftly and fully implemented. A similar letter was sent to First Lady Melania Trump, who has raised alarms about the youth e-cigarette epidemic and supported efforts to remove flavored e-cigarettes from the market.
In response to new data showing that the youth e-cigarette epidemic has gotten even worse this year and 5 million U.S. kids now use e-cigarettes, the Administration on September 11 announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon issue a final policy to “clear the market” of flavored e-cigarettes – including mint and menthol as these two flavors are used by 64 percent of high school e-cigarette users. The Administration stated that the FDA will issue the policy within weeks and enforce it a month later.
“Our organizations commend and fully support your plan to remove all non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes from the market, including mint and menthol flavors. If this plan is swiftly and fully implemented, it will play a critical role in reversing the youth e-cigarette epidemic,” the letter to the President states.
Results of two newly-released national surveys show the youth e-cigarette epidemic is worse than ever and is putting millions of kids at risk of nicotine addiction and other health dangers.
- According to the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey (2019 NYTS), e-cigarette use among high school students increased to 27.5% in 2019, up from 20.8% in 2018 and 11.7% in 2017. Altogether, 5 million middle and high school students – including more than 1 in 4 of all high school students – now use e-cigarettes.
- Similarly, the 2019 Monitoring the Future survey showed that 25.4% of 12th graders report vaping nicotine in the past 30 days, compared to 20.9% in 2018 and 11% in 2017. Alarmingly, 1 in 9 of all high school seniors (11.7%) report that they vaped nicotine nearly daily, a strong indication of addiction.
The evidence is clear that flavors play a critical role in youth use of e-cigarettes. Research has found that nearly all (97%) current youth e-cigarette users use flavored e-cigarettes and 70% cite flavors as a key reason for their use. The 2019 NYTS found that 63.9% of high school e-cigarette users use mint or menthol-flavored products, an increase from 51.2% in 2018 and 42.3% in 2017.
Adding to the urgent need to protect kids, health authorities are currently investigating at least 530 cases of serious respiratory illnesses associated with use of e-cigarette products in 38 states, with 9 deaths now reported. Many cases involve teens and young adults.
In their letter to First Lady Melania Trump, the organizations thanked her for raising the alarm about the youth e-cigarette epidemic. The First Lady joined the President in the Oval Office for the announcement of the new policy to remove flavored e-cigarettes from the market, and she recently tweeted, “I am deeply concerned about the growing epidemic of e-cigarette use in our children. We need to do all we can to protect the public from tobacco-related disease and death, and prevent e-cigarettes from becoming an on-ramp to nicotine addiction for a generation of youth.”
Here is the list of groups signing the letter to the President:
- Academy of General Dentistry
- Action on Smoking and Health
- African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council
- Allergy & Asthma Network
- American Academy of Family Physicians
- 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 Respiratory Care
- American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
- American College of Cardiology
- American College of Physicians
- American College of Preventive Medicine
- American Dental Association
- American Federation of School Administrators
- American Federation of Teachers
- American Heart Association
- American Lung Association
- American Medical Student Association
- American Public Health Association
- American School Health Association
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- American Thoracic Society
- Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
- Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
- Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
- Catholic Health Association of the United States
- ClearWay Minnesota
- Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
- Counter Tools
- Eta Sigma Gamma – National Health Education Honorary
- International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
- March of Dimes
- National African American Tobacco Prevention Network
- National Association of County and City Health Officials
- National Association of Elementary School Principals
- National Association of School Nurses
- National Association of Secondary School Principals
- National Education Association
- National Hispanic Medical Association
- National Network of Public Health Institutes
- Oncology Nursing Society
- Parents Against Vaping E-Cigarettes (PAVe)
- Protect Kids: Fight Flavored E-Cigarettes
- Public Health Law Center
- Public Health Solutions
- Respiratory Health Association
- 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
- Truth Initiative
- U.S. PIRG