Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, after months of headlines about the dangers of vaping and a litany of mysterious medical conditions, we hit a pretty concerning milestone last week--vaping-related lung injuries have now been reported in all 50 States.

Alaska became State No. 50 with the identification of a teen suffering from these illnesses. I said a teen. The teen reported regularly vaping both nicotine and THC products, and while I am glad to hear the patient is recovering, it highlights the need for immediate action to this public health emergency.

Nationwide, nearly 28 percent of high school students and 1 in 10 middle school students are using e-cigarettes. That is just to the best of our knowledge.

Folks at home are struggling to respond to these growing numbers, and parents and teachers and others are trying to figure out how to get their arms around this problem.

Last year, 19 percent of Texas high school students had used an e- cigarette in the last 30 days, and all of these recent cases lead me to believe that this number has gone up and gone up significantly.

It is, I believe, a growing epidemic, but folks in North Texas are bearing the brunt of it. More than half of all the vaping-related injuries at home occurred in North Texas. It is also home to the first vaping-related death in the State.

Last Friday, I visited the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth to learn more about the dangers of e-cigarettes and the community-led efforts to curb their use.

Let me be clear. When we are talking about adults making choices on what to put in their body, I will leave those choices to the individual adult, but if we are talking about children exposing themselves to a chemical that is addictive, which may lead to a life--even if they avoid some of the immediate public health consequences, it may lead to a lifetime of addiction and worse.

We heard from a pulmonary specialist that a lot of kids she talks to don't understand the risk of e-cigarettes. They think that because these devices aren't subject to the same regulations and restrictions as traditional cigarettes, they are somehow different and safer.

We got to hear from a teen who certainly had that mindset. Sixteen- year-old high school junior Anna Carey is one of the many students in her high school using e-cigarettes, and she admits to becoming rather quickly addicted to the nicotine.

She said she began to display symptoms like those we have seen across the country. She was extremely lethargic and would experience random and severe pains in her chest.

Two initial x rays came back clear. So her doctors released her, but her symptoms continued. Eventually, she was admitted to the Cook Children's Hospital and diagnosed with chemical-induced pneumonia in both lungs. That, Anna told us, was her wake-up call.

I am glad to report that Anna has fully recovered and is using her story to help educate and alert her fellow teens from going down the same path.

Everyone who participated in our discussion in Fort Worth last Friday agreed that there is no single action or initiative that can put this outbreak to rest. We need to work together, not only the Federal Government but State and local governments, parents, teachers, and communities, to combat this crisis from every angle.

During our conversations we talked about the need for action by the Food and Drug Administration, something our colleagues on the HELP Committee have been examining. We also talked about the need to do more to educate our kids about the risks of e-cigarette use to stop them from picking up these devices in the first place.

One of the easiest ways we can do that is to make it more difficult for children to purchase vaping devices from online retailers, but, unfortunately, our current laws make that difficult to enforce. We are not talking about changing the age restrictions to purchase these devices, but merely the manner in which these devices are purchased in a way that avoids the age restrictions on their consumption.

For traditional cigarettes, consumers are able to make purchases online, but there are clear guardrails in place to prevent children from skirting the age restrictions. At the time of the delivery, the buyer has to sign and show an ID proving that they are an adult. That just makes common sense. You have to show an ID when you purchase cigarettes at a gas station or convenience store, and it shouldn't be any different when you purchase these devices online.

But e-cigarettes are on a different playing field. As often is the case, developments in the real world can outpace Congress's ability to respond, and this is, perhaps, a prime example of that.

Anyone, no matter how old or young, can go online and buy e- cigarettes and have them delivered to their front door--no questions asked, no age verification, no ID, no nothing--and that is wrong.

Kids can be resourceful, you better believe, in taking advantage of this loophole. In fact, a recent survey found that a third of underage e-cigarette users bought them online.

There is no reason why e-cigarettes should be subject to lesser restrictions than traditional cigarettes. They are just as addictive and dangerous. After hearing from a number of constituents who share my concerns about teen vaping, I introduced legislation to make it more difficult for our children to get their hands on these devices.

The Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act would put in place the same safeguards for e-cigarettes as traditional cigarettes purchased online.

Just to be clear, we are talking about protecting children. We are not talking about limiting adults' rights to use these devices.

This bill would require online retailers to verify the age of a customer, release deliveries only to an adult showing a proper ID, and to comply with all State and local tobacco taxes.

These are commonsense reforms, and they have garnered broad bipartisan support. More than a quarter of the Senators in this body are cosponsors of this bill, and it recently passed by voice vote in the House of Representatives. When we are talking about passing consensus legislation that makes just common sense, well, this is as easy as it comes.

We need to do everything in our power to turn the tide on this wave of addiction to protect our children from these dangerous substances.

I appreciate Dr. Michael Williams and the folks at the UNT Health Science Center for hosting such an important discussion and for their work to educate the public on e-cigarettes and the dangers associated with their use, particularly by minor children.

I want to thank my colleagues who have thrown their support behind this legislation. It is a bipartisan bill, as demonstrated by the chief cosponsors on the other side, Senators Feinstein and Van Hollen.

I can't imagine why anybody would want to hold such a commonsense bill up, and I hope we will be able to send it to the President before we head home for the holidays.

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