Fellow Illinoisan,

Vaping targets kids.

Just look at some of the flavors you can find on the market today: unicorn milk, bubble gum, and gummy bear. These aren’t aimed at a 50-year-old chain smoker who’s trying to quit cigarettes. They’re designed specifically to attract children - and they’re working.

In addition to peddling these kid-friendly flavors, e-cigarette companies like JUUL have long marketed their products as being a safe alternative to cigarettes. It’s simply not true. But because of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) multi-year refusal to act on vaping, JUUL was able to sell these dangerous products to our children for years, hoping - much like Big Tobacco before them - to hook an entire generation of kids on nicotine.

DURBIN: VAPING TARGETS KIDS

Big Vape’s child-addiction scheme has been largely a success thus far. Nationwide, five million children are now vaping. That’s one out of every four high schoolers. This is no coincidence. It’s the direct result of a years-long campaign by the vaping industry to target our children with their dangerous and addictive products, sanctioned by the FDA’s refusal to act in any type of meaningful way.

For years, I have expressed my concerns about youth vaping to the FDA, and called on the agency to use its existing authority to remove illegal and dangerous products from the market, especially those that target children. And now, thankfully, the FDA is finally starting to do its job. It’s a shame that it took six deaths - including one in Illinois - and hundreds of hospitalizations from vaping for FDA to step up, but I am glad that it is finally happening. The FDA’s announcement of a ban on all flavored vaping products is welcome and important news. I just wish they had acted sooner. 

It is my strong hope that the FDA will follow through and remove these dangerous and addictive products from the market without further delay, but that’s only the beginning. We need a national strategy to drive this crisis out of our schools.

That’s why I sent a letter to the U.S. Surgeon General, asking him to develop a nationwide plan to educate, prevent, and respond to the youth e-cigarette epidemic. Due to years of FDA inaction, millions of children are vaping today - many of whom are now addicted to nicotine. A national strategy is needed to prevent additional children from becoming addicted to nicotine - banning e-cigarette flavors is a good first step - and to help those that currently are addicted.

I look forward to making sure we end this crisis, once and for all.

Sincerely, 

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)