Washington.- Senators attacked high-ranking health officials and authorities this Wednesday for not doing more to combat the increase in illegal electronic cigarettes in the United States, which is a multibillion-dollar business that has flourished amid haphazard enforcement of the law.
Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee expressed frustration and exasperation as they questioned officials at the Food and Drug Administration and the Justice Department about efforts to take over the vaping industry, which has grown to include thousands of e-cigarettes. of flavors that are not authorized and come from China.
Those products, including brands like Elf Bar, have become the most popular among American teens who vape.
“I just don’t understand how the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Justice have allowed thousands of products to remain on store shelves when their manufacturers have not received authorization and in some cases have not even requested it,” he said. Dick Durbin, Chairman of the Committee.
The Illinois Democrat showed a photo of a shelf full of brightly colored e-cigarettes, including watermelon and pitaya gum flavors, and said a Senate staffer visited a vape shop near the U.S. Administration office. Food and Drugs in Maryland.
The Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco chief, Brian King, said the agency has been slow to perform because of a backlog of applications submitted by vaping companies seeking U.S. approval, and they have to review regulators.
Lawmakers also heard from a high school senior who said she became addicted to nicotine after trying “a blueberry-flavored vape pen” when she was in ninth grade.
“I thought I was just enjoying the flavors, but soon my 14-year-old brain became addicted to nicotine and wanted more and more,” said Josie Shapiro of Seattle.
“I’ve tried to stop vaping over and over again, but it’s really hard.”
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