Congress Must Protect America's Children From the Scourge of Nicotine Addiction

Floor Speech

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Ms. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2339, the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act.

In 1999, I was tapped to serve as one of the founding members of the American Legacy Foundation whose mission was to create a world where young people reject tobacco, and anyone can quit. For 7 years I served as vice chair of Legacy as we fought to help create a tobacco-free generation. That organization is known today as the Truth Initiative.

We helped air the first advertisements that curtailed teen cigarette use and started us toward the end of an epidemic, but our work is not yet done. We have a new epidemic on our hands, one we cannot ignore.

In 2019, over 5 million middle and high school students used e- cigarettes. That is up almost two million students from 2018. H.R. 2339 tackles this problem. By prohibiting the sale of all flavored tobacco products, we protect our children from the scourge of nicotine addiction.

To be blunt, this legislation puts health before profit, and that is the truth.

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