President Obama’s top health official told Congress Thursday the administration is working quickly to polish off regulations on e-cigarettes, as recent studies show the number of youth who consume nicotine through “vaping” has skyrocketed in recent years.
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said her agency hopes to finalize new rules by this summer.
“I hope that it’s more than hope,” Sen. Jeff Merkley, Oregon Democrat, said at a hearing on HHS’ budget for next year. “I hope it’s a reality.”
While actual smoking rates have declined, the rate of e-cigarette use among middle and high school students tripled from 2013 to 2014, according to a government study released this month.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 13.4 percent of surveyed high school students reported using an e-cigarette at least once in a 30-day period last year, up from 4.5 percent in 2013.
In raw numbers, that’s a jump from 660,000 to 2 million students.
Among middle school students, e-cigarette use jumped from 1.1 percent to 3.9 percent, or from 120,000 to 450,000 students.
They also said their findings underscored the swift rise of novelty tobacco products — and the need for regulators to intervene.
Some see vaping as a safer alternative to actual cigarette smoking, while others view it as a dangerous option that draws in young people with colorful flavors.
“You have chocolate and you have strawberry and you have Gummy Bear and you have Scooby-Doo,” Mr. Merkley said.
The senator noted that Congress authorized the Food and Drug Administration to regulate flavors and other aspects of tobacco products in 2009.
“Now we’re here six years later,” he said, “and we don’t have the regulations yet.”
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