Congressman Krishnamoorthi Applauds FDA Decision To Clear The Market Of Two Types Of Flavored Vuse E-Cigarettes Because Of Their Risk To Young People

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi issued the following statement, applauding the FDA's announcement of its decision to issue marketing denial orders (MDOs) for the Vuse Vibe Tank Menthol 3.0% and the Vuse Ciro Cartridge Menthol 1.5%, two menthol e-cigarette products currently marketed by R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company. In its role in regulating tobacco products through its premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) process, the agency evaluated elements of both e-cigarettes, including their components, ingredients, additives, design, harmful and potentially harmful constituents, and health risks. Based on their assessments of the products' applications, the FDA determined they "lacked sufficient evidence to demonstrate that permitting the marketing of the products would be appropriate for the protection of the public health, which is the applicable standard legally required by the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act," because they did not "present sufficient scientific evidence to show that the potential benefit to adult smokers outweighs the risks of youth initiation and use." This announcement follows last fall's release of the National Youth Tobacco Survey for 2022 by the FDA and CDC that found that approximately 28.2%­ of high school students in the United States currently use e-cigarettes and 23.8% of those engaging in vaping have used Vuse in the previous 30 days.

"In 2019, I launched my investigation into the youth vaping epidemic and because of it, we've revealed the ways in which companies have profited off of selling their products to our children, often after directly targeting them through targeted advertising, flavors, and increasingly high nicotine levels," said Congressman Krishnamoorthi. "Today, I applaud the FDA for following the science through its PMTA process in carefully considering the evidence around these flavored vapes, recognizing the risks they pose to children, and acting on it by clearing the markets of these Vuse products. While this is an important step forward and the FDA has similarly rejected marketing applications for more than 1 million other flavored e-cigarettes, it has still not announced its decisions on many of the most popular brands. In order to protect our children from the risks of lifelong nicotine addiction, it is critical that the FDA completes its review of e-cigarette marketing applications without further delay and clears the market of menthol, along with all other flavored e-cigarette products."

Background:

1. Congressman Krishnamoorthi's leadership in combatting the youth vaping epidemic dates back to 2019 when he launched the first congressional investigation into the issue as Chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, during which he held four hearings on the youth vaping epidemic in America and the role of JUUL and other companies in fueling the crisis by deliberately targeting children to get them hooked on their products.
2. On September 19, 2019, Congressman Krishnamoorthi co-founded the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Caucus to End Vaping with 51 colleagues from the House and Senate.
3. On January 2, 2020, Congressman Krishnamoorthi condemned the Trump Administration's weakened vaping guidance, which broke the former President's promise to protect America's youth by clearing the market of all e-cigarette flavors, including menthol.
4. On January 23, 2020, the Congressman sent a letter to FDA about its plans to enforce the Trump Administration's partial ban on flavored vaping pods, requesting the FDA monitor, in real time, the large number of children who will migrate to menthol e-cigarettes from other now-banned flavors.
5. In April 2021, the Congressman applauded FDA's announcement of its plan to ban menthol cigarettes to protect public health and contribute to racial justice.
6. On February 15, 2022, Congressman Krishnamoorthi called on the new FDA Commissioner, Dr. Robert Califf, to act quickly and rule on all outstanding e-cigarette applications and ban all flavored e-cigarettes.