Taking Strong Action to Stop the Epidemic of Youth Tobacco Use

Floor Speech

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Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, this week the House is taking strong action to stop the epidemic of youth tobacco use.

We have watched as the use of tobacco and vape products by kids has exploded in our community over the past months. It has become a full- blown public health crisis affecting more than 5 million kids.

More than 200 Illinoisans have suffered respiratory illness from dangerous vape products since last year. Eight of them have died. This shouldn't be happening.

Thanks to decades of public health work and education, youth tobacco use was actually going down until the introduction of sophisticated vape products.

Let's be clear, these products are targeted at kids. They are made with flavors like cotton candy and gummy bears. They are marketed directly to children, and they are designed to keep children hooked.

This is a crisis that we will be dealing with for decades because 95 percent of adult tobacco users started when they were kids, and there is still so much that we don't know about how the high doses of nicotine and other chemicals in these products affect kids' bodies and their minds.

Given the FDA's failure to effectively regulate these products, Congress needs to act now before it is too late. It is time to stand up and refuse to let our kids be hurt. It is time to pass the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019.

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